“If a Chicagoan ever considered living in a church, it might evoke images of bell towers, or living in a cathedral like Quasimodo did in ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame.’ But an increasingly popular concept that turns cathedrals into residences is much more modern than anything you’d encounter in 15th century Paris.
“One such example is the recent conversion by Chicago developer ZSD of St. Boniface Catholic Church, a circa 1900s structure, into housing for the West Town neighborhood. In a three-phase redevelopment, completed in June, the developer built out a total of 42 units at St. Boniface, with eight qualifying as affordable housing.
“And as many religious institutions face declining attendance — which makes maintaining properties unsustainable — converting the historical buildings into housing has become an attractive option.
“Churches offer a uniqueness ‘that comes out of transforming something that was never meant for someone to live in,’ said Jay Keller, a principal architect with SPACE Architects + Planners who worked on the St. Boniface development. ‘People want to live there because you can’t find that in a brand new structure.’
“Keller’s firm has been involved in several church-to-residence conversions, including Everman Lofts in Wicker Park, The Synagogue in Uptown and Talman Lofts in Logan Square.
“St. Boniface resident Gary Weber wanted that story when he bought a penthouse unit that includes two towers, a large rose window and 38-foot ceilings. ‘I was attracted to the architecture and the possibility of a fun, funky space,’ Weber said.
“The number of Chicago-area churches converted to residences is difficult to quantify, said Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, as developers continue to transform cathedrals, temples and other religious buildings.
“With more than 30 church properties listed for sale by the Archdiocese of Chicago alone, more conversions to housing are likely.
“‘Chicago’s an older city,’ Keller said. A lot of these churches, they’re built into the community fabric. These churches were built into the neighborhoods.”
“Some buildings, such as schools, are easier to repurpose than others, Miller said, because rooms are large enough and the cost of conversion is lower.
“Landmark status impacts what can happen to church structures. The status helps protect historic buildings from demolition or significant alterations to the historic nature of the structure.
“A 1987 Chicago ordinance requires the consent of the owner before a religious property can be designated a landmark. Because of this ordinance, Miller said, Chicago has lost the ability to preserve the historic architecture of churches that don’t want landmark designation.
“‘Adaptive reuse creates opportunity,’ said Robertson, who remains optimistic about the possibility for church conversions to include more affordable housing and hopes that adaptive reuse will ‘become a much bigger component of the affordable (housing) decisions made by the city.’ (Bateman, Chicago Tribune, 11/2/25)
Decades years after St. Boniface Church held its last mass, and after 16 long years of relentless preservation advocacy, and a last minute sale before demolition; Preservation Chicago is thrilled that the St. Boniface adaptive reuse finally proceeded thanks to developer ZSD, Michael Skoulsky of Stas Development and Space Architects + Planners.
The Romanesque church was designed by architect Henry Schlacks in 1902 and is located at 1348 W. Chestnut Street. First nominated as a Preservation Chicago 2003 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Building, preservation advocacy efforts were sustained for over a decade until a final rapid response effort which culminated on Friday, September 23, 2017, when with demolition scheduled for the following Monday morning and moments before the hard deadline of Friday at 5 p.m., the building was sold to Stas Development for a preservation-sensitive adaptive reuse.
The road to St. Boniface’s preservation has been long, complex, and difficult. Despite that the prospects for success seemed remote at times, Preservation Chicago never lost hope and never stopped advocating for a preservation-oriented outcome.
Preservation Chicago’s leadership role was pivotal, but many preservation partners worked tirelessly to support St. Boniface. Preservation Chicago wishes to recognize and celebrate Michael Skoulsky of Stas Development. David Ruttenberg of Marc Realty Capital, Skoulsky’s equity partner in the project; and Northwestern Settlement House.
The courageous leadership of Eleanor Gorski and Dijana Cuvalo, City of Chicago Landmarks Division and Lisa Misher, City of Chicago Senior Counsel, was instrumental to this process. Persistent advocacy from Lisa DiChiera at Landmarks Illinois and the continued interest of local press kept the fight for St. Boniface in the public spotlight.
Neighborhood organizations including Neighbors of St. Boniface led by the Kevin Stawiarski, East Village Association’s Bob Zwolinski Scott Rappe, and Gladys Anselmo, along with Preservation Chicago Board President Brad Suster never faltered. Neighbors of St. Boniface were key to the effort’s success, including Claudia Sainsot, Jon Kulpit, Kathy Thalmann, Jim Boccarossa, and architect Mike Vasilko. Elaine Coorens, editor of ‘Our Urban Times’ and Alisa Hauser formerly of ‘DNAinfo Chicago/Block Club Chicago’ have been dedicated to covering this story for years.