Ballard's "Art Church" is about to go away.

The old church at 2051 NW 61st St, which was briefly retrofitted into a home and art studio in 2009 by Marianne Maksirisombat, is slated for demolition.

According to a decision made by the Department of Planning and Development on Dec. 3, the demolition of the building will have no significant environmental impacts. During the process, neighbors should expect the usual noise associated with such work and a brief period of time where there will be more particulate matter in the air. But such impacts will be temporary in nature.

Since the church was more than 50 years old, it was referred to the Department of Neighborhood's Landmark Preservation Board to see if it would qualify for landmark status, but the structure was deemed unlikely to qualify, according to the DPD report.

Only one comment was received throughout the entire public notice period, asking what was going to be built there.

Maksirisombat's stay at the church lasted for only about a year, hosting art shows and displaying larger-than-normal pieces. Her goal, she said in a 2009 Ballard News-Tribune interview, was to give the local art scene a "little shaking up."

However, Maksirisombat has since moved on and the church has remained vacant. Now, in place of the old church, a new four-unit townhouse is expected to be built, developed by Soleil Development. A single-family residency is also under review.

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