St. John’s/San Juan Episcopal Church has been listed for sale

The Rev. Dr. Janet Waggoner and other members of the St. John/San Juan Episcopal Church congregation held a community information session on March 24th, regarding what they plan to do with the property in the South Capitol neighborhood. Members of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) attended. The church is located between Capitol Way and Washington Street and 19th and 20th Avenues SE.

The church’s ongoing challenge with the property was previously discussed with the SCNA Board in April and May of 2023. The building has a number of structural problems that would cost too much to be fixed. It needs a new roof, seismic upgrades, sprinkler and fire alarm systems, accessibility improvements, stairway code compliance, and repairs for structural damage from roof leaks.

Church leaders hired three separate consultants in 2021, 2025 and 2026 to assess the property and make recommendations on the feasibility of repairing or selling it.

Because the cost to improve the building was too expensive, the congregation recently made a decision to sell the property and relocate elsewhere in Olympia.

They have listed the property with Kidder Matthews in Tacoma for $1.9 million. They were advised by the Diocese not to add any conditions to the sale.

The congregation will receive an offering memorandum from the realtors in a few weeks, and will share it with interested parties, including the SCNA board.

The congregation plans to move out of the building in the summer of 2027. They will launch a major capital campaign to raise funds for the move. They hope to take the Columbarium, organ, time capsule and stained glass windows with them to their new location.

This is the church’s third location in Olympia. The sanctuary was built in 1957. Over the years, the church has helped others in the neighborhood and the city by nurturing Cambodian and Latin American refugees and immigrants, providing a meeting place for other groups and religions, and founding the Little Red Schoolhouse project, which provides hundreds of families with school supplies.

The SCNA board is following this matter closely and will share additional information with the neighborhood once we know more.