SEATTLE - When the original developers started renovating a century-old church on Capitol Hill in Seattle, the real estate market was still sizzling. It was 2006 and the sky was the limit. But it wasn't, of course, it just seemed like it was.
The first owners went belly-up and the project stalled as the market collapsed. Current investors bought the property and the debt at a cut-rate, and after pumping in another couple million dollars are finally open for business.
"It was clearly envisioned at the best of possible times. And it arrived at effectively the bottom of the market," said current listing broker Dean Jones with Realogics/Sotheby's International Realty.
The "First Church of Christ, Scientist" building has historic landmark status. That makes the 12 town-home units truly unique, carved, as they are, into the hollowed out center of the old domed building. The units share a huge central atrium with a stained-glass oculus in the roof, but each has its own address and outdoor entrance. The conversion, Jones says, was a huge engineering, architecture and art project.
"The structural reinforcement was important of course, life-safety considerations. The ability to add vision-glass to the homes that have stained-glass windows. It was quite a feat," he said.
The project is unique and it also helps tell an interesting story about the downtown Seattle real-estate market. For the in-city sales area, within walking distance of downtown neighborhoods, business is actually pretty good. Median home prices went up last year by 5 percent. Sales volume was also up slightly.
The condo and town-home market downtown is hot. There just isn't much to pick from and there probably won't be any new major multi-family projects on the market for at least the next 2 years. The one-of-a kind "Sanctuary," which took so long to make it to market, is the only thing in the pipeline.
"It actually defines the end of the last development cycle," said Jones. "This is it for inventory."
Which is fine for Kamran Marashi, who has had his eye on the property for several years.
"This is i think is a better opportunity to by as opposed to in an up market," he said.
With asking prices now set at slightly more than half what the original developers envisioned, Marashi may be able to buy into what he calls "a piece of history." Browsing through the multi-level unit he's considering buying, he sees a perfect gallery-like setting for his art collection, and a place where he can be a temporary resident until passing his piece of the old church on to the next generation.
"It will only be more desirable as time goes on. There is nothing about this that will be outdated or go out of fashion," he said.
