Stanford Hotels Group is looking for tenants to move into a church in downtown Bellevue. 

The San Francisco-based firm, owner of the proposed three-tower Cloudvue development in Bellevue, has listed the seemingly vacant sanctuary building of the former First Congregational Church for lease, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported. The company is on the hunt for tenants who can fill the approximately 28,700-square-foot structure at 752 108th Avenue Northeast. 

The sanctuary building has a seating capacity of 500 and could be divided to welcome either single or multiple tenants, according to the Business Journal. With multiple classrooms and offices, a kitchen, a nursery and other areas for children, it can accommodate different church times, weekday education programs and events.

Stanford Hotels bought the 4.6-acre property in 2018 for $128 million. At first, the company proposed building two office towers totaling 1.7 million square feet plus a hotel and residential high-rise. The city conditionally approved the master development plan in 2022 with the first phase of the development planned for completion next year. 

Two years ago, however, Stanford switched gears to turn the office towers into residential units, according to the Business Journal. The new Cloudvue plan calls for two 600-foot-tall residential towers with an additional tower of similar height for hotel and residences. Stanford also tweaked its plans for a proposed three-level performing arts center called the Playhouse in Bellevue; it instead opted to turn it into a grocery store on the ground level, fitness center on the second floor and offices on the top floor. 

The long-term lease for the First Congregational Church sanctuary includes a demolition clause, according to the Business Journal. Demolition would eventually make way for the Cloudvue development, though for now, Stanford seems to be shifting its plans. 

Bellevue First Congregational Church moved its operations into a 1970s office building at 11061 Northeast Second Street, less than half a mile from the Cloudvue site, a decade ago, per the Business Journal. It’s unclear if the building has been vacant ever since. First Congregational was founded in 1896 and is Bellevue’s oldest church.

— Chris Malone Méndez

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