When news broke last year that a suburban developer was interested in converting the shuttered St. Boniface Church in Noble Square into a senior living facility, 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett said, "God came through -- only God can put something like this together." The new owners have adopted similar religious rhetoric: "We've taken to calling it 'God's project,'" Kenneth McHugh from Institutional Property Management-Amicus told Sun-Times reporter David Roeder. God has mandated that interior work, including the removal of pews and other furniture, begin in the coming days. Major demolition and rehab work is set to begin next summer, according to the Sun-Times article. As we reported in October, Phase 1 will include about 75 units, and it is scheduled for completion in 2012 (if God cooperates, that is). Costs are estimated at about $20 million.
· St. Boniface in West Town gets new owner [Sun-Times]
· Preservationists Prevail; St. Boniface Church Is Sold [Curbed Chicago]
Filed under: