“Francis W. Parker School, a private K-12 college prep school in Lincoln Park, is moving forward with plans to expand its footprint following years of neighborhood backlash, failed buyout attempts and at one point a lawsuit.

“The school’s plan to expand, neighbors say, could cost families their homes, reshape a tightly knit residential block and deepen a yearslong rift between the school and the community it calls home.

“That tension was palpable during a packed, and at times contentious, public meeting Tuesday night, where nearby residents clashed not only with school officials but also with Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd) over how the meeting itself was conducted.

“Since at least 2019, Parker has sought to expand beyond its campus along Webster Avenue, first attempting to buy out neighboring condo buildings on Belden Avenue outright before shifting tactics to purchase individual units.

“The school offered more than $20 million to buy two century-old buildings — $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 bids failed, Parker shifted strategies. The school bought two condos in Belden by the Park for roughly $1.8 million in 2019 and secured contracts for additional units, according to the Tribune.

“Residents in both buildings approached the school about potential sales, and all transactions were voluntary, a representative for the school said in an email to Block Club.

“The approach intensified tensions in the neighborhood where residents accused the school of attempting a piecemeal takeover of the buildings. Condo associations sent letters urging Parker to stop acquiring units and more than 600 neighbors signed a petition to preserve residential zoning in the area.

“About six years earlier, Parker had made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase the Shakespeare Building, a 24-unit property located at 2230-2256 N. Lincoln Park West.

“The strategy sparked fierce backlash from residents, including a since-dismissed lawsuit accusing the school of attempting a “hostile takeover” and raising fears among homeowners that they could ultimately be forced to sell.

“Parker is now advancing a proposal to construct a new academic building at 327-335 W. Belden Ave. by demolishing the existing residential building there, expand enrollment and add new campus features, including lights for its outdoor soccer field so that practices and games can be scheduled both earlier and later in the day.

“The proposal also includes a package of neighborhood measures, including new security cameras and lighting, a commitment to convert a Parker-owned property at 2236 N. Clark St. into seven affordable housing units and a pledge to keep another building as residential housing for at least 30 years.”

Preservation Chicago has worked with the community, owners and stakeholders to consider a Chicago Landmark District of Fullerton Parkway, Lincoln Park West, Belden and Commonwealth Avenues as a Chicago Landmark District to preserve all of the buildings on Belden years ago. However, that effort met resistance with former Ald. Michelle Smith and was not pursued, much to the disappointment of many residents. We remain involved with the comunity on this advocacy effort.

Additionally, 327-335 W. Belden was the longtime home of architect Gertrude Lempp Kerbis and her family. Kerbis was a woman that “broke the glass ceiling,” the world of architecture and studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology under architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

Kerbis designed a number of prominent structures, including the “Seven Continents Restaurant- Rotunda Building” (A 2019 Preservation Chicago 7 Most Endangered Building) It was a seminal Jet Age building at O’Hare Airport, which opened in 1963, with its distinctive circular design, containing a mile’s worth of steel cabling in its roof structure and a complex program of requirements and spaces.

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago

• Francis Parker School Expansion Plan Draws Backlash From Lincoln Park Neighbors, Neighbors critical of the elite private school’s latest proposal to replace a nearby building with a new academic structure say it would displace families and prioritize the school’s growth over existing residents, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 4/6/26
• Francis Parker School revives expansion plans, reigniting Lincoln Park opposition; Apartment buyouts could give way to reconstruction, as neighbors cry foul, The Real Deal, 4/7/26