The Archdiocese of Chicago has faith in the city’s real estate market, it seems: A developer is hoping that a vacant Catholic Church in Ukrainian Village will have “mass appeal” when he converts the building into The Sanctuary, an 18-unit loft development, according to yet another interesting story in the Chicago Journal.
According to the story, the Archdiocese of Chicago generally markets vacant churches to other religious groups but decided that the size of the parcel and its lack of a parking lot made it a better fit for a residential developer (if not for home-buyers who want a place to park.) See previous Yo posts on church conversions elsewhere in Chicago.
Developer Romeo Kapudija (who appears to also be a racing car driver?) will retain features of the common areas of the building such as limestone crosses and communion cups. The most expensive unit, which has an asking price of $699,000, will have 18-foot ceiling heights, and a dining room on a raised level where the church choir used to sit.
This kind of a place would have been perfect for Yo’s truly growing up. We could’ve cut out the commute on Christmas Day. We kids had this habit of spending a little too long opening the Christmas presents and playing with our roller skates, and as a result we never quite made it to the church on time. We’d shuffle into the packed church and into the only available seats – the choir stalls – and sit shamefaced looking out at the congregation.