“The Francis W. Parker School scored a victory in its yearslong battle against some Lincoln Park neighbors over its plan to build a middle school on West Belden Avenue.
“The school, which has been in Lincoln Park for 125 years, received approval Thursday for its expansion from the Chicago Plan Commission. The school also sought approval for new athletic field lights and security cameras.
“It’s proposing tearing down the 15-unit Belden by the Park condos at 335 W. Belden Ave. to build a five-story building, which would include a pedestrian overpass connecting the buildings. Parker, which owns the condo building, pegs construction costs at $39 million.
“But neighbors still showed up in full force Thursday, with more than 40 people signed up to speak about the proposal. Parents of Parker students, alumni and some board members spoke in favor of the proposal, citing the need to better position Parker for the future. But they were outnumbered by opponents of the project, many of whom were against the demolition of the 1909 vintage courtyard building at 335 W. Belden.
“Preservation Chicago urged the commission to reject Parker’s proposal, citing the inclusion of Belden by the Park in the courtyard building landmark district the group has pursued for a number of years.
“Some detractors pointed to the Better Plan, a proposal created by the group East Lincoln Park Neighbors that calls for a five-story building on Parker’s parking lot and a sixth-story aquatic center, to avoid demolishing residential buildings.
“Michelle Hoppe Villegas, board member of the Mid-North Association, said its board opposes the expansion. ‘We ask that you listen to the overwhelming public opposition to amending the current plan development agreement and ask that you reject the private institution … asking to encroach upon our dense and treasured historic neighborhood,’ Hoppe Villegas said. ‘If allowed, Parker will consume and gut this historic community.’” (Miller, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/17/26)
“In order to build its new academic center, which will hold its middle school students and staff, the school will demolish a 117-year-old building it owns at 327-335 W. Belden Ave.
“Since at least 2019, Parker has sought to expand beyond its Webster Avenue campus, initially attempting to buy two neighboring Belden Avenue condo buildings outright before shifting to purchasing individual units.
“The school offered $11.2 million for the 15-unit Belden by the Park building at 327-335 W. Belden Ave. and $9 million for the neighboring 19-unit building at 317-325 W. Belden Ave., the Tribune reported. After those offers failed, Parker bought two condos in Belden by the Park for roughly $1.8 million and secured contracts for additional units.
“The strategy prompted accusations from residents that Parker was attempting a piecemeal takeover of the buildings. A lawsuit filed by residents over the school’s acquisition strategy was later dismissed.
“Melissa Macek, president of the Mid-North Association, said Tuesday during the Zoning Committee hearing that residents remain opposed to expanding onto Belden. ‘We’re not opposed to Parker expanding. We want them to expand on their [existing] footprint,’ Macek said.
“Field lighting and other site improvements are planned for summer 2027, while construction of the new school building is expected to begin no sooner than 2028.” (Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 9/23/26)
“Chicago needs strong schools, hospitals, cultural institutions and nonprofits. While some of those institutions serve the public, others, such as private schools, primarily serve those willing and able to pay for their services. Their tax-free status means they do not contribute to paying for city services. Further, when they purchase private property to expand their campuses, they compensate the owner of the land, but they do not compensate the city for the permanent loss of tax revenue.
“Parker’s proposal has real, human costs that affect not just a block, but the entire city. It would swallow up housing when we are trying to enact policies to grow our housing stock. It would displace families and permanently alter a vibrant residential neighborhood when we are trying to keep eyes and ears on our streets and shoppers in our local stores. Most of all, we lose property that contributes to the local tax base and funds important public services.
“In this case, the community has done more than simply object. Residents hired an architect and put together a thoughtful, comprehensive alternative proposal that addresses Parker’s stated needs while preserving housing and maintaining the neighborhood’s character. That better proposal shows that Parker can improve its campus to meet its educational goals without tearing down occupied homes or placing noise and congestion burdens on nearby residents.
“This issue extends beyond Parker and Lincoln Park. Without firm standards, private tax-exempt institutions will keep buying up residential property and turning our neighborhoods into extensions of their campuses, at our expense. Once homes are demolished, properties are removed from the tax base, and neighborhood character is lost, Chicago cannot get them back.” (Burr, Chicago Tribune, 9/17/26)
Preservation Chicago urged the Chicago Plan Commission to reject this proposal.
327-335 W. Belden Avenue was the longtime home of architect Gertrude Lempp Kerbis and her family. Kerbis studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology under Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and broke the glass ceiling in the world of architecture. Among her prominent works is the Seven Continents Restaurant / Rotunda Building at O’Hare Airport, a seminal Jet Age building that opened in 1963, with its distinctive circular design containing a mile’s worth of steel cabling in its roof structure. Preservation Chicago named the Rotunda Building a 2019 Chicago 7 Most Endangered.
Preservation Chicago has worked over the years with the community, owners and stakeholders to consider a Chicago Landmark District of Fullerton Parkway, Lincoln Park West, Belden and Commonwealth Avenues, which would have preserved all of the buildings on Belden. That effort met resistance from former Ald. Michelle Smith and was not pursued, much to the disappointment of many residents. We remain involved with the community on this advocacy effort.
Preservation Chicago suggested a creative alternative that would allow many priorities to be accomplished at once. Parker outgrew its Webster campus decades ago, and the lack of available land has significantly reduced the growth of enrollment. Parker could move its campus to the acres of vacant land at Lincoln Yards, about ten minutes west and close to the highway, which would immediately make the school geographically accessible to many more neighborhoods and many more families. Land is plentiful there, so Parker could build a new academic building, all of the athletic facilities they have long dreamed of, and retain land for parking and future growth. The sale of the current Lincoln Park campus could help underwrite the cost. The Webster site could then support a large, high-density residential development that would add many more homes to Lincoln Park without displacing any current residents, and the historic courtyard buildings would be preserved in their current residential use.
In June 2026, the Illinois National Register Advisory Council voted to recommend a multiple-property National Register designation for Chicago’s historic courtyard apartment buildings, which would make federal and state historic tax credits available to owners across every Chicago neighborhood. Preservation Chicago strongly supports that designation.
Construction is not expected to begin before 2028. Preservation Chicago encourages the Francis W. Parker School to reconsider the demolition of 327-335 W. Belden Avenue.
Read the full story at the Chicago Sun-Times, Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Tribune
- Francis W. Parker School’s expansion gets first city approval, despite ire from neighbors; The Lincoln Park private school said the project will allow it to add students and faculty, but neighbors expressed anger that the expansion would result in the demolition of a nearby condo building, Abby Miller, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/17/26
- Francis Parker School Expansion Plan Approved By City Council Despite Opposition From Locals; The approved plan — which some neighbors have been fighting for years — allows the private school to demolish a 15-unit residential structure on Belden Avenue and replace it with an academic building, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 9/23/26
- Kelsey Burr: City should reject Francis Parker’s expansion plans, Kelsey Burr, Chicago Tribune, 9/17/26
- Parker School Expansion Advances Despite Neighbors’ Opposition To Apartment Demolition, Block Club Chicago, 9/21/26
- Could Chicago’s stock of courtyard buildings wind up on the National Register of Historic Places?; Lee Bey, Chicago Sun-Times, 6/26/26
- THREATENED: Parker School Expansion Threatens Vintage Courtyard Residential Building at 327-335 W. Belden Avenue; Preservation Chicago
- THREATENED: Neighbors Rally Against Francis Parker School’s Proposed Demolition to Clear Residential Building for Campus Expansion; Preservation Chicago, 6/30/26
- Seven Continents Building / Rotunda Building; a Preservation Chicago 2019 Chicago 7 Most Endangered