A collection of newly constructed luxury condominiums, created within the walls of a former Chicago church built in 1889, is about to hit the market — a transformation that a local preservation group hails as a victory for the city.
The Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church is one of the few standing historic buildings in the neighborhood once home to the Cabrini-Green public housing development. The structure, located less than 5 miles from downtown, has been converted into seven two-story condos with modern interiors and prices ranging from $1.1 million to $1.6 million, according to listing agent Joanna Olszynska of Compass.
After an LLC purchased the property in 2023, they hired Chicago-based Hanna Architects to convert the building into residential use. The firm maintained the church’s facade, but inside, only some original ceiling beams could be reclaimed.
The project also resulted in varied layouts, square footage, and bedroom and bathroom count, said Olszynska. CaseyAnn Reid of Compass is the co-listing agent.
“It’s not a cookie-cutter property,” Olszynska told Homes.com. The Compass team is working with sister brokerage @properties Christie’s International Real Estate to represent all units. The property is called the Seven on Elm Residences.
501 W. Elm Street, Unit 3 hit the market last week for $1.1 million. It includes three bedrooms, four full bathrooms and 2,300 square feet with Thermador appliances, quartz countertops, private outdoor space and a one-car garage.
The unit is considered a “duplex down,” meaning the entrance is on the second floor with stairs inside leading to the lower level, which has heated floors. Duplex-up units, with first-floor entries, are still being finished, said Olszynska, and require “a few more months” before they hit the market.
It’s a vast difference from the graffiti-covered structure that sat abandoned for almost a decade.
A conversion win for Chicago preservationists
Outside the building, the words “First Swedish Baptist Church” are carved into the stone. It’s a signature the developer intends to keep, harkening back to the church’s original use and the area’s history as a heavily Swedish community.
Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, said the area later became a predominantly Italian neighborhood before the Cabrini-Green complex was constructed in stages around the church in the mid-20th century.
Cabrini-Green at one point was made up of more than 3,000 housing units, but it became widely seen as a public housing failure for its dilapidated buildings and crime, according to the Chicago History Museum. The development was demolished mostly during the 1990s with the last building coming down in 2011.
Today, the area is no stranger to redevelopment, with high-priced condos and single-family homes. Homes.com listings show a nearby two-bedroom condo listed for $630,000 and another asking $950,000.
The church was sold in 2023 for $1.7 million, according to the Homes.com listing, and the original description stated the “highest and best use is to replace it with a more modern residential development structure.” It had the same proposal when listed originally in 2018.
That pushed the local preservation group to deem the property a “threatened” landmark. Though it has no official landmark status, Miller hopes the owners could consider submitting the property for designation to protect it from future development threats.
“The most important aspect is that the building remain standing as a testament to the history of the community and the people that were so much a part of the neighborhood that’s been completely reenvisioned,” Miller told Homes.com in an interview.
Miller said a similar approach could save another vacant church that served Cabrini-Green residents, Strangers Home Missionary Baptist Church.
Church conversions are quite common around Chicago, as are the demolition of former religious buildings. Many neighborhoods constructed churches for their respective religions and nationalities, with some located just one block apart from each other. With dwindling church attendance, these properties often face an uncertain future.
“Oftentimes, we see these buildings that were cornerstones of the community demolished. That really does erase that history and that story,” said Miller.