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‘Rare central Seattle find’ — With $2.8M listing to sell some of its land, church neighboring Uncle Ike’s begins longterm plan for new home

Mount Calvary is selling land across the street on 23rd Ave for $2.8 million that will be the start of its plans to find a new home away from 23rd and Union

A $2.8 million real estate listing is a harbinger of things to come at 23rd and Union. The Mount Calvary Christian Center, which unsuccessfully battled the neighboring Uncle Ike’s pot shop in court, is beginning the process of finding a new home closer to the areas where most of its congregation now lives.

“We’re still very much a part of the community,” Nicole Bascomb of Bascomb Real Estate Group and a member of Mount Calvary tells CHS, “and we’re going to be there for a while.”

But change has begun. Bascomb, daughter of longtime Central District real estate agent Paul Bascomb, has listed her church’s Joshua Generation Teen Center property on the west side of 23rd Ave across from Mount Calvary for $2,824,250.

 

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“Rare central Seattle find,” the listing reads, “zoned NC2P-55 located on highly traveled 23rd Avenue.”

The 8,690-square-foot parcels are “just waiting for the right investor to join the growing neighborhood business core of 23rd.” “A billboard lease” is also available “for additional income or removal.”

Bascomb said the time was right for the church to move forward with its plans and the first step was to sell off the teen center land.

“Our ministry is growing, this is the time to consider putting the property up for sale,” she said.

Mount Calvary has no plans — yet —  to market its church property on the eastern side of 23rd Ave next to Uncle Ike’s. But these are times of “exciting changes” at the holistic ministry that has been part of 23rd Ave since 1992. Bascomb says that Pastor Reggie Witherspoon has been nominated as bishop for the church’s jurisdiction. And she says that Mount Calvary, like many Central District religious and community institutions, has seen its African American members leave the area and move south.

The Christian center has also tangled with the neighboring pot shop. In 2014, Witherspoon led a “Shut It Down” prayer rally against Ian Eisenberg’s first Uncle Ike’s. It eventually took Eisenberg to court but was ultimately unsuccessful in arguing that the shop should not have been allowed to open at the intersection in such close proximity to the church. Having made peace outside the courts, Mount Calvary decided to take some of Uncle Ike’s cash and sports billboard signs for the pot shop on its teen center property. UPDATE 1/8/2020: A representative for the church says it received no payment for Ike’s messaging and that the advertising was removed quickly after the church saw it posted by the billboard’s managing company.

It might be the right time to make the sale. Three of the four corners of 23rd and Union have been redeveloped and the fourth is about to be demolished so construction can begin on Midtown: Public Square, a project planned to create a set of seven-story apartment buildings with 429 apartment units and a new Bartell’s as an anchor retail tenant. Lake Union Partners also has developed The East Union building next to the teen center land where a New Seasons grocery market will soon open.

For now, Bascomb said the focus is on 23rd and Union and the hoped for sale of the teen center property. It will be time, eventually, for a new home.

“From a mission perspective of doing the work of god, we just don’t have the space,” Bascomb said.

 

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13 Comments
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John Whittier Treat
John Whittier Treat
5 years ago

I’m no fan of Uncle Ike’s (its product stinks up the neighborhood and the buses that stop nearby it), but I’ll be happy to see that ugly church go and, one hopes, replaced with something the neighborhood can really use seven days a week.

p-patch
p-patch
5 years ago

Jesus Christ…

Brian N.
Brian N.
5 years ago

dear God that was a terrible comment…

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
5 years ago

You’ll be waiting awhile. If you read the article, it said they’re not selling the church land.

Brian N.
Brian N.
5 years ago
Reply to  Jim98122x

When it does go up for sale, I’m interested to see if Ian snatches it up; imagine owing the entire 23rd facing block from Union to Pike would be a pretty enticing sell eventually to a developer. Conversely, does a developer snag that plot and buy up the car wash/Uncle Ike’s lots on either side? Either way that stretch is under built with plenty of $$ to be made all around.

Dana Twight
Dana Twight
5 years ago

A new Bartell’s as an anchor tenant! Local chain, not national.

Neighbor
Neighbor
5 years ago
Reply to  Dana Twight

If only the local special interest groups would stop stalling the project and let them build it.

Jeff
Jeff
5 years ago
Reply to  Dana Twight

A local shop for local people!

Tika
Tika
5 years ago

good riddance. that’s an ugly church and the idea of a god is dumb.

cd neighbor
cd neighbor
5 years ago
Reply to  Tika

You all need to read the article and not just the headline… the church isn’t going. Presently, they are only selling the lot across the street, where they have a teen center.

dang
5 years ago
Reply to  cd neighbor

But the title’s pushing 144 characters so the must be the extent of the info no? It wouldn’t be any fun to actually read the article before commenting on something you’ve already passed judgement on…

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
5 years ago
Reply to  cd neighbor

“word”

southsound22@hotmail.com
5 years ago
Reply to  Tika

Haha. Ok Tika. Totally fine to be a bigot on this site as ling as your bigoted against the right people.