History

Save St. Edward Seminary

Since 2014, Daniels Real Estate has been working with various partners to save and reuse the St. Edward Seminary. As we have become more acquainted with the architectural character and uniqueness of the seminary, we have become more resolved that it’s time to bring architectural history back to life.

The following are short informational paragraphs about the history and status of St. Edward Seminary. Links with current information are also provided to keep you up-to-date with our proposal for the reuse of the St. Edward Seminary.

  • In 1976 when the state purchased the Seminary from The Archdiocese it was intended to become an active, recreational park with full use of the buildings. However, funding was never allocated for the programming of the seminary building so it has sat largely vacant for 40-years.
  • The Nationally landmarked seminary building is now threatened due to years of deferred maintenance. State Parks estimates that it will cost taxpayers between $10-$16 million dollars just to fix electrical, heating, plumbing and structural code issues. This expenditure will not open or activate the building. With a $500 million backlog of state parks’ capital needs, we believe this is not a good use of state tax payer dollars.
  • The seminary building is a national registered landmark which the state of Washington agreed to protect and preserve. If the state abandons this responsibility, it will be in violation of the National Preservation Act.We need to recognize the long-standing ideal that America’s great historical places should be set aside and preserved for future generations to enjoy.