The building most recently known as the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in Tacoma now has new owners.

Originally built in 1930 as a fraternal building, the structure has been owned by the Karpeles Manuscript Museum since 1991. The museum was one of several branches nationwide that houses rare historical documents.

The building is now the home to Garden City Church, a Christian church that has rented spaces throughout Pierce County for many years. Lead Pastor George Bedlion said the church has been looking for a building to buy for more than three years now.

“We’ve been a set-up and tear down operation and there’s definitely a yearning for something more permanent but we also really have been searching for something that can be more than just a building that serves the church on the Sunday, but something that could be multipurpose, something that could not just be in the community, but for the community and utilized by the community,” Bedlion said.

The classic style of the 1930s building, along with its proximity to Wright Park, attracted Bedlion to the building.

“We have a lot of creatives and artists in our church and this was right up our alley,” Bedlion said. “When we saw this we saw the bones and something that could meet the dream that we have.”

The church will take a phased approach to restoring the building and are first focused on utilization, but plan on adding elements that can be a benefit to the community, according to Bedlion.

“We envision it being utilized to serve social, emotional and spiritual needs, to help us step up our efforts in foster care with some of our partnerships there, be a place that can connect and highlight artists, that is important to us,” Bedlion said. “We also, in any way we can, we want to be a supporting hub to local entrepreneurs, small businesses and local commerce. I’m just so thrilled that it has the capacity to do some of these things.”

The church wants the new building to be a place where people can feel welcome.

“I really hope that this is a place that when people walk on site there is a sense of peace. There is so much polarity, tragedy and hardship in our world and I think people have experienced a lot of hardship over the last few years,” Bedlion said. “I just want people to experience peace.”

Bedlion said he thinks it is important to focus on “partnership over partisanship.”

“We are excited to be a church that partners beyond our own doors and different backgrounds, different institutions for the good of the community. We really try to focus on common good.”

Bedlion said he wants to have an impact that creates greater compassion. He said the church plans to partner with institutions and groups to help people experiencing homelessness in the area.

“People who have training and facilities, we really need to lean into that, and we need to help catalyze conversations that are generative, not degenerative. I think that’s a really important issue,” Bedlion said. “It’s certainly something that we want to be a part of the solution. I don’t know what that will look like but we definitely want to be in that conversation.”

Bedlion is excited to continue building on partnerships. He said some of those currently are the Olive Crest foster care, the Chinese Reconciliation Park committee, and Nourish food banks.

“I’ve been recently learning about new institutions, groups, associations in the area that are already working for the common good and I’m excited to learn from them,” Bedlion said. “I’m excited to see what kind of partnerships and impact can come through that.”

The church holds its services at 10 a.m. every Sunday at the new location. People looking to help support or get involved in the phased approach to restoring the building can contact the church at info@gardencitynw.com.