“Another Northwest Side church is being demolished and will be replaced by single-family homes, much to the disappointment of local preservationists.

“Demolition began last month on the Evangelical Lutheran Christus Kirche at 2028-2033 N. Richmond St., built in the 1890s, and its adjoining school building at 2018 N. Richmond St.

“Designed by Flizikowski & Kaiser for a German congregation in 1896, the church is the third building on the site; the second one burned down, according to local historians and preservationists.

“A time capsule box with a newspaper dated 1896 has been saved, as have some original stained glass window decorations and the large bell inside the church tower, said Schneider and other volunteers with Logan Square Preservation working been working with developers to preserve parts of the church’s history.

“Logan Square Preservation plans to re-home the bell, set to come down this week, at another church in the area, though the effort will require a $25,000 fundraiser, Schneider said.

“The German Lutheran congregation occupied the church until around 1980, Schneider said. During the 1880s and 1890s, development on the North and Northwest Sides brought German and Norwegian immigrants to the neighborhood, with many of those remnants visible through local architecture.”

“By razing the Logan Square church, V&M Development is bucking a trend among developers to restore churches and convert them into apartments, condos or single-family homes, a move that surprised Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st).

“The developer does not need aldermanic approval to tear down the church and build anew, as it is within the area’s zoning to build by right, the alderman said. La Spata said he met with the development team to share options for an adaptive reuse project and was willing to work with them to not demolish the properties, but they were only interested in building single-family homes, he said.

“‘What is happening with church on Richmond is the exception, not the rule,’ La Spata said. ‘The move by and large has been to find adaptive reuses … it was surprising to me developers didn’t want to go in that direction.’

“The story is nearly identical to another church at 3518 W. Cortland St., also previously owned by New Life, that was razed in 2020 and now has three single-family homes in its place.

“La Spata said he has not yet considered floating an ordinance that would protect churches from demolition because more research on succession planning needs to be done. The church demolition, however, is a reminder that elected officials, community groups and church leaders need to better work together, he said.

“‘We need to do a little more research for incentives to promote adaptive reuse,’ La Spata said. ‘That’s what folks want to do with these projects; nearly 10 out of 10 developers want to maximize the property use.” (Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 12/3/25)

“In the Logan Square neighborhood, two demolition permits were issued on October 28 to raze the closed church at 2028 North Richmond Street and its adjoining school building at 2018 North Richmond.

“The school building still carries the markings of the Salem Christian School, an entity of New Life Community Church, who is named in the permits as the owners of both structures.

“The church’s most recent use was by IFGF Chicago, which recently relocated to the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church at 1701 North Richmond in Humboldt Park.

“Permits have now been secured for all four single-family residences to be built on the site of the vacant church and school on North Richmond Street in Logan Square. Both of those structures are now being demolished ahead of the lot’s redevelopment.

“2903 West McLean Avenue arrived first, on November 13. The following week, 2909 West McLean received its new-build permission on the 19th, with 2905 and 2907 coming one day later. The permits are all identical, calling for two stories plus a basement and detached two-car garages.

“As of Thanksgiving Week, the school building has been knocked flat, though some perimeter walls are still standing. Mostly though, it’s a giant pile of rubble. Most of the church building’s roof is gone, with the structure accessed from the back portion of the south façade. There is an excavator inside the church on the second floor, working its way toward the front. The demolition crew used rubble as a platform to get the machine one story off the ground..” (Schell, Chicago YIMBY, 11/28/25)

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and Chicago YIMBY

• After 130+ Years In Logan Square, Former Church Demolished For Single-Family Homes; The demolition of the century old church bucks the trend of developers opting to redevelop religious buildings into housing, experts said. Some elements, like its bell, will be preserved, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago, 12/3/25
• Four Single Family Homes Permitted As Logan Square Church And School Come Down, Daniel Schell, Chicago YIMBY, 11/28/25
• Another Church Demolition Permitted, This Time In Logan Square, For SFR Redevelopment, Daniel Schell, Chicago YIMBY, 11/5/25