Lacey church moving into Olympia site that has housed K Records, Temple Beth Hatfiloh
An Olympia building in the 800 block of Jefferson Street Southeast that has been home to a synagogue and an independent record label is coming full circle to once again serve as a place of worship.
That’s according to the new owner of the building and his tenant, who said Monday that Christ Our Hope Anglican Church, formerly New Hope Anglican Church in Lacey, has leased the building and is set to have its first church service there Sunday morning.
Olympia developer Ali Raad, who developed the Washington Health Benefit Exchange building next door, bought the property at the end of April to better control the future of that corner property at 802 Jefferson St.
Renovations began in July, Raad said. He is taking care of the exterior renovations, while church volunteers are handing the interior work.
Carpeting has been removed to expose hardwood floors and a Presbyterian church in Everett donated pews, said Jim DiGiovanna, a church warden for Christ Our Hope.
The previously Lacey-based church ran out of room for its growing congregation in the office space at Martin Way and Carpenter Road that it had been using for worship, he said. The church has 45 members, including 10 children, and now have room for the sanctuary, a fellowship hall and Sunday school.
DiGiovanna said the church often works with the homeless and has a street ministry.
“We’re looking forward to the ministry opportunity here,” he said of the downtown Olympia site.
For years the building was home to Temple Beth Hatfiloh, which now is located at 201 Eighth Ave. SE. In between, the church was home to K Records, which ran into some financial challenges in 2016 and put the church building up for sale.
The Stranger reported in March that K Records held a moving sale that same month.
“We moved out of the Temple building last summer into an office on Capitol Way North in downtown Olympia,” K Records owner Calvin Johnson told the alternative weekly this past spring. “The building has been on the market for over two years. There is an offer that has been accepted and may close soon, so we are removing the last of our belongings from the premises.”
Thurston County Assessor data show developer Raad, through his company, Marhaba LLC, paid $340,000 for the 4,500-square-foot building in late April.
This story was originally published August 27, 2018, 3:10 PM.
