BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO
March 2, 2021
Hannah Alani

WEST TOWN — Despite a three-year delay, a neighbor’s plans to preserve and redevelop the St. Boniface church building in West Town’s Noble Square are still in motion, the church’s owner said Monday.

Michael Skoulsky told neighbors during a virtual East Village Association meeting Monday his 2018 plan to convert the church into 17 condos remained unchanged — albeit “very, very” delayed.

Skoulsky said the process involved “uneasy circumstances,” but he did not elaborate on specific factors contributing to the delay.

“The project is on track and at full speed right now,” he said. “We’re gonna probably start pre-sales in the next couple months.”

Skoulsky bought the church for $2.2 million in September 2016 after working with the city to save the structure from demolition. Another developer planned to tear it down and build single-family homes.

During the summer of 2018, city leaders approved a redevelopment agreement for Skoulsky to preserve the church at 1438 W. Chestnut by carving 17 condos inside, plus building a new four-story, 24-unit condo development on vacant land next to the church.

Additionally, a new two-story building at 921 N. Noble St. was planned to offer four affordable residential units and administrative space to be used by the Northwestern University Settlement House, which provides social services and educational programming to Chicago families.

But no visible progress has been made with the project since then and it’s not clear why.

A previous iteration of the plan called for including a music school run by the Hyde Park-based Chicago Academy of Music.