St. John’s Lutheran Church has sat on a downtown corner of Madison, Wisconsin — just three blocks from the state Capitol — for nearly 170 years.But its leaders are now working to demolish it.
“St. John’s has always been a place focused on refuge, serving the poor, and meeting people where they are,” the church’s pastor, Rev. Peter Beeson, said in a fundraising video.
“Today, we`re looking at adapting our building in the most audacious way yet: by tearing it down to build 110 units of affordable housing, plus worship and community space.”
In the place of the old building will be a brand-new 10-story redevelopment, as Beeson described, home to a new worship space, offices, community spaces, and over 100 mostly low-income apartments, with a parking garage underneath...
...moreLeo’s notes: By choosing to replace underused space with 110 affordable homes, the congregation is responding directly to today’s most urgent need: safe, stable housing for working families and neighbors priced out of their own communities. As housing costs continue to outpace wages, projects like this show how mission-driven institutions can unlock land, align values with action, and help turn compassion into concrete solutions.
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- - Volume: 26 - WEEK: 7 Date: 2/9/2026 2:22:17 PM -