Courtesy All Souls.

While many places in D.C. aren’t accessible to people with physical disabilities, one D.C. church is taking steps to make its Woodley Park building welcoming to all.

All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church, which has been at the corner of Cathedral Avenue and Woodley Place NW for 102 years, says it will spend $1.6 million to “modernize and upgrade its physical plant with an elevator and accessible restrooms.” Here are some of the specifics:

Build a small, two-level addition that will enable universal access to the sanctuary and undercroft from the parking lot; an addition which includes an elevator and two accessible restrooms

Create a larger, accessible and more welcoming garden space with doors directly into the undercroft and suitable for contemplative, musical, and social functions

Add a ramp in the undercroft to provide accessibility to the lower level of the existing education wing and to the undercroft stage

Build a small canopy over the Cathedral Avenue entrance to provide shelter from inclement weather

Add a fire alarm system to the entire building complex as well as the electrical service upgrade required to support the elevator

Provide handicapped parking by redesigning the parking lot

Incorporate environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient features that will reduce utility expenses.

In a release, rector John Beddingfield explains the church was “founded to be a way into the vital relationship with God and be nurtured by the entire congregation, to be relevant and attuned to the times, and to help make the world better.” A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on Sunday, September 8, at 12:30 p.m.