Forget the Condo, Buy the Whole Church: 2558 W. Cortez in West Ukranian Village
This West Ukranian Village church at 2558 W. Cortez is being used as a single family home.
Built in 1873, the red brick church has 4000 square feet.
The listing says it has the original hardwood floors.
It’s also on a double lot and has stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. I can’t tell if there’s parking or not from the listing.
The new buyer won’t have to fear about the cost of cooling the huge cathedral living room, as it doesn’t have central air.
The church is also listed as a commercial property. The listing says it is zoned RT4.
Bohdan Gorczynski at Koenig & Strey has the listing. See the pictures here.
2558 W. Cortez: 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 4000 square feet
- Sold in January 1994 for $172,500
- Originally listed in June 2009 for $970,000
- Reduced
- Currently listed at $890,000
- Taxes of $3166
- No central air
- Bedroom #1: 14×12
- Bedroom #2: 12×12
- Living room: 65×47
- Kitchen: 10×24
Taxes look awfully low.
Awesome space, though, with pretty details. A little more thought and planning and this would be a gorgeous dwelling.
Hard to know how to price it.
I live down the street from this church. You would not know that it’s a home if you walked by. It would make a sweet lair for Batman or similar.
There is one gated spot in the back, and I believe you could make room for another if you cleared some ground cover.
So, if you lived here would that guarantee you a place in heaven? That alone would be worth the price.
“West Ukranian Village”. How’s the hood? You’ve got the Clipper and a new wine bar accross the street from that. Is there much else nearby?
There appears to be lots of street parking around here whenever I’ve driven by. I don’t think additional parking spots would be too big of an issue.
I think this block is right on the cusp of Humboldt/Ukrainian Village, from a socioeconomic perspective. A map will tell you it’s Humboldt Park; a Realtor will tell you it’s Ukrainian Village.
Rootstock, the Empty Bottle, and Flying Saucer are all a short walk from here.
I wonder, would living in a church count as another security system? Would thieves take pause from breaking & entering one?
“I wonder, would living in a church count as another security system? Would thieves take pause from breaking & entering one?”
Not even for one second!
I am curious to what the regulars think this place is worth?
And what would it cost to make this plush? … instead of the current layout with a couple of rooms wedged into the corner.
Westloop – what would you do with this?
Wow cool place, you could really turn this into something neat. The hood is not really my style but whatever not like I have the money to buy this place anyway lol!
Price seems about right I guess if you could negotiate this down to 800k or so. $200 a sqft for pretty much raw unique space? Doesn’t seem super insane, or is it for this hood?
This has the potential to be a maintenance nightmare. The upkeep on this church has to be taken into consideration by the buyer. Hopefully any buyer will have deep, deep pockets. Not just for the remod, which it needs imo, but also for the upkeep of the structure and its workings.
“The upkeep on this church has to be taken into consideration by the buyer”
the upkeep of any home needs to be taken into serious consideration. I would think that during the remodel the major things would be taken care of, and the rest on out would be regular home maintenance.
it seems many ukie village churches are not churches anymore?
I’m gonna trash talk this place so bad that the price goes down and then I’m a gonna buy it…
Location – terrible! Humboldt Park, CRIME!
No air – ever sit in church sweating your arse off? Welcome home!
Set up – What is this? The stove is where the priest is supposed to be. Huh?
Parking – who ever heard of a church with no parking! Circle the block and pray for a spot.
And… 1 bathroom. Ew.
Shouldnt this be converted into what every other former church in Europe gets recast as? A dance club?
From the pictures it looks like they took care to leave a lot of open space, so for all we know this has been an “underground” club for a decade or two.
I’ve already got my online ordination, so this place could be tax free.
is there even a market right now for some developer to convert this into condo? There is a glut of condo (and everythinkg else) right now and probably for the next few years. Are developers buying building right now?? I wouldn’t think so but I don’t know; I’m not involved in commericial RE in any way.
Tom – I think we were talking more about a person reno-ing this as a SFH.
Bizarre. As if your teenage years aren’t awkward enough, think about having to take a girlfriend home to meet the folks at the CHURCH YOU’RE LIVING IN! That has got to kill the vibe.
If it is ever going to look like anything other than a church, serious work needs to be done.
I’d eliminate the balcony in the half of this place nearest the altar and make the rearmost half a full isolated second story with several bedrooms. TONS of potential here if someone’s willing to spend the dough.
“I’ve already got my online ordination, so this place could be tax free.”
I’d create the holy church of football and apply for tax exempt status 🙂
So what’s it like getting a work permit for a commercially zoned property? And can you even have a commercial property as a primary residence? Or does it need to be rezoned?
major credit must be given to sabrina for finding these places…
“major credit must be given to sabrina for finding these places”
i bowed down to sabrina’s awesomeness when she presnted us with the bordello in chinatown.
Taxes here seem low as someone mentioned plus this is a commercial property now.
i wonder if it gets rezoned and assessed what the new taxes will be?
“AK49 on October 8th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Tom – I think we were talking more about a person reno-ing this as a SFH.”
yes, but it is also listed as a commercial property so the seller has some inclination that a developer would buy this property.
All this talk about the Chinatown bordello made me nostalgic. Just checked in on it and it’s down to $699K. I’m sure that makes it infinitely more attractive…
Michael,
I wonder if that is the biggest percentage price drop on crib chatter.
Okay this thing is absolutely terrible.
Ben Franklin said “Lighthouses are more useful than churches”, but I am not sure how turning a worthless church into an even more worthless home is following his advice.
Tear this thing down
yes the chinatown property still takes the cake
The property is zoned RT-4 – resientialy townhouse. So I think this means a condo development (tear down or chopping up the church).
Does anyone know what it would take to get this place zoned for a bar/restaurant? I think the space would be perfect for that.
Other than greasing a millions palms, and knowing Da Mayor, is there any chance of getting this rezoned to allow a restaurant? It looks like a residential area, but there does appear to be a pantry at Thomas and Cortez. Not sure if that matters.
Any zoning lawyers on here familiar with the process?
“Does anyone know what it would take to get this place zoned for a bar/restaurant? I think the space would be perfect for that. ”
The only non-residential zoned parcel in the immediate area, not on a major street is the SE corner of Augusta and Campbell. Which, imo (not a zoning lawyer), makes it quite unlikely you’d get a zoning change. And, even if you got the chaneg to the same B-2 zoning that parcel has, you’d be limied to a restaurant, as a tavern is not a permitted or special use in B-2.
You could try for a variance, but you’d need some significant community support to overcome the inevitable opposition.
Although this appears to be dealing primarily with upsizing residential zoning, it looks like the alderman has a fair amount of discretion in changing zoning. I’m not sure if that applies to changing the zoning to permit a restaurant/bar. Regardless, I think you could make a pretty amazing restaurant/bar.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-zoning-wrapdec31,0,5876530.story
I too was thinking a restaurant would be a fantastic idea (can’t recall the place in Atlanta that is a killer project and is very similar to this place)…It will come to me… Until then… take a look at this place (and the price) in NYC.
http://curbed.com/archives/2009/10/07/curbed_pricechopper_is_this_uptowns_craziest_apartment.php#more
The interior and more importantly the exterior of this Chicago church is an architect’s dream…endless possibilities for a one of a kind SFH. Other than a cool restaurant (if I could land a star chef) I would not, under any circumstances, butcher this up for condos or a coop… NEVER… as it would lose all character.
Oh the possibilities this place has for THE most outrageous SFH in Chicago.
I think I had mentioned here that I renoved a large portion of a turn of the century schoolhouse in NY quite awhile back. Same proportions and it was a great project but the maintenace ended up being a money pit…and the three massive Heating & AC units we installed cost a years salary of an executive, never mind the monthly charges.
Luckily I was able to sell at a profit after a ton of $$ was invested to make it an unbelieveable place. I ended up living in it for a bit more than a year until I came across the warehouse loft I now call home. The portion of the church that I landed was the gymnasium (with a massive stage, shower rooms with killer tile work (Boys and Girls designation that were done in tile were left) and half of the cafeteria. It has been one of my top renovations which is still being occupied by the family I sold it to and it has been the subject of a few design articles.
I swear, the week I finally decided to return to NYC permanently all of these great places are turning up here in the city making me think I could have my next great residence here. A few more of these listings and I just might do exactly that! As much as I love and miss NYC, I think I have pretty much done what I stayed there to do. All of the super deals have already been had and all that are left over are uber expensive units.
AAAHHHHH got to stop reading CC to keep my mind on moving back to my hometown…
“AAAHHHHH got to stop reading CC to keep my mind on moving back to my hometown”
before you leave we really need to have a CribChatter night out. eat, party, get drunk, someone bring a laptop and we will take breaks to talk smack about steve h and the bordello in chinatown.
I’d be in for a CC night out.
Sabrina – I bet you could get a bar to giv a great group rate and a cool room.
I could push for something at the Foundation Room.
In the spirit of the times, wouldn’t we need to find a very large REO house and have the fete there?
How about I put my condo on the market and then everyone shows up to bash it, while actually there? Very meta.
I’m in for a CC GTG as well.
haha yes, i’ve always thought that would be a helluva interesting night out. i’ll bring the name tags
Maybe everyone will be a little nicer to one another after meeting in person. Or a little meaner. Hard to say. It’s an odd concept, but not a bad idea.
“Maybe everyone will be a little nicer” i wonder how many fist fights we will have to break up?
i will give my word that at the “First Annual Crib Chatter extravaganza” that i will keep my pant on!
I think it’s great that Groove only has one pant.
“I think it’s great that Groove only has one pant”
hey the economy is bad and times are hard cut back were in order
I’ll go if and only if Sabrina promises to go, but, my nametag will say Steve H. and Sabrina’s will say G.
I’d go — even as a minor contributor — but only if you all promise not to mock me for buying in June ’08.
Never mind — mock me all you want. I deserve it.
iam down too. Party!!!!
You are all too funny. I would be more than happy to arrange some kind of crib chatter gathering as it would certainly be interesting to see who’d show up and what you would all talk about.
It definitely would Sabrina! What about a Thursday after work? That way, it wouldn’t run into weekend plans for anyone, yet it’s “almost” the weekend. Somewhere relatively central…in/near the loop, perhaps? Emerald Loop on Wabash?
Durty Nellie’s!
I am all in for this event. Anyone ever tried ZED451? Nice contemporary place, big bar, friendly staff. Had you not all been so harsh about all listings here, I would hold it in one of the places that have just been finished. Only thing is I am not staging any of these places that are listed as sales just are not going down for me here. Well, perh
Been dying to put a face with the postings…anon(tfo), Groove (to see how hot he really is) Bob, HD, Sonies, Russ…and everyone else. The highlights of the night of course would be the arrival of my favs, MG and G.
That is if they have not already taken out restraining orders against me…
Mr. West Loop Elo:
I have been to ZED451, and they do have a fun wine list. Large room setting would minimize the volume of chattering we’d produce which could be considered a plus. I hope that anon (tfo) has an iPhone so that he could pull up everyone’s tax bills and how much their mortgages original amounts were for. That would be a great bar trick.
I’ve been to brunch at zed 451. Bring your appetite! Its pretty good.
Never been to ZED451, passed by many times and thought it looked more hype than quality.
The wife and i will have to try it for date night or a sunday brunch.
“I hope that anon (tfo) has an iPhone so that he could pull up everyone’s tax bills and how much their mortgages original amounts were for. That would be a great bar trick.”
That would be some fun stuff there. and will be able to tell who is going to pay interest on their bar tab, who will pay cash or who SHOULD pick up everybody’s tab
“Groove (to see how hot he really is)” dont know where ya got that from but i will take it 🙂 (grooves hay day is long gone)
Michael,
“but only if you all promise not to mock me for buying in June ‘08” I dont think anyone will mock you unless you were going to flip the place in a year or two. if you bought for 7-10 years there is nothing wrong with buying in 2006-2008.
p.s.
i would pay top dollar to see the cat fight between Westloop and MG in person. i got five on Westloop!
We drove past this place this weekend – the building is and could be beautiful. The hood it is in is, not. It backs up to some Section 8 housing and there were some gangbangers out at noon on a Saturday. Not to mention the razor wire all around this place – pretty bad when you have to keep da peeps from breaking into a church.