SEATTLE – A new initiative to redevelop underused parish, school and other Church-owned properties for housing, community outreach and ministry services was announced November 17 by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne.
“Creatively thinking about our properties and how we can use them to further the mission of the Church is exactly what we need to do,” the archbishop said in announcing the Catholic Real Estate Initiative.
The initiative is a collaboration between the archdiocese, parishes, schools, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington and Catholic Housing Services to evaluate Church-owned properties and determine potential sites to carry out the vision.
Although these entities have worked together for more than 40 years and completed several projects (see list below), the new initiative builds on those efforts and ties them directly to the archdiocese’s pastoral planning process.
As part of that process, the whole archdiocese is “on retreat … to deepen our relationship with Christ and carry out his mission,” the archbishop said.
“By partnering with Catholic Community Services and Catholic Housing Services on this vision, we can also address the dire housing challenge faced by many of our brothers and sisters, while providing more ministries and services to the community,” Archbishop Etienne said.
Michael Reichert, president of CCS and CHS, said the initiative “demonstrates how the Catholic Church is taking action to help alleviate the housing pressures in our region and to provide services and ministries in local communities.”
“It is our duty to be good stewards of all the blessings we have,” said Joe Schick, CFO of the archdiocese. Selling or redeveloping underused properties will help create more housing, he said, “and more mission-critical work, while also investing in the future to continue the good work of the Catholic Church.”
Past collaborative projects
In past years, the Archdiocese of Seattle and parishes worked directly with CCS and CHS to develop new uses for Church-owned and other properties.
Projects involving Church-owned properties include:
Projects involving other properties where local parish communities partnered with CCS/CHS: