BRONZEVILLE — Some Bronzeville neighbors have vowed to block a proposed apartment building that would replace a closed Catholic school, saying developers, local officials and the Archdiocese of Chicago made little effort to involve residents in the plans.
Developers want to build 48 apartments at 545 E. Oakwood Blvd., replacing the unoccupied Holy Angels building owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago near Our Lady of Africa Parish. The one- and two-bedroom units would average 600-700 square feet, with rents starting at $1,700 a month, developers said. The building would be managed by Crump Realty.
The neighboring church would be unaffected, leaders said.
Representatives from Eagle OZB joined a contentious virtual meeting convened by Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) last week in which neighbors, including Bright Star Church Pastor Chris Harris, accused the developers and city officials of keeping the community in the dark and rushing the project through the approval process.
Neighbors said they were given little notice about a previous community meeting and a March Zoning Board of Appeals meeting where commissioners approved several land use proposals related to the project.
Neighbors also said they worry the building will worsen traffic concerns in the area because developers only allotted eight parking spaces for prospective tenants.
The land is privately owned, so the Archdiocese of Chicago does not need city approval to sell it, Robinson said. Archdiocesan spokesperson Susan Thomas declined comment on the project but confirmed the property is “under contract for sale.”
Harris and others wanted clarity on when and how the project was approved, saying they had no idea it was happening.
“Welcome to Oakwood Boulevard. This is the ‘Grown Folks Block,’ and we don’t play that,” Harris said. “I want to be very clear that there has to be a level of respect for not only our community, but particularly our block, and it’s not necessarily coming across that way. At the end of the day, if this is the way that these kinds of these are going to happen, I think ultimately they are going to have some tremendous problems in the very near future.”
Thousands of Black students once walked the halls of the 124-year-old building, which has been vacant for years. The school has since moved to 750 E. 40th St., while predominantly Black parishes — St. Ambrose, St. Anslem and Holy Angels — merged in 2021 to form Our Lady of Africa down the street.
The land is within an Opportunity Zone, one of 135 in Chicago. The program is the city’s attempt to spur redevelopment in under-resourced communities by offering investors and developers tax breaks.
Robinson, who was joined by neighboring Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), told neighbors he asked developers to “slow down” out of respect for the community and asked them to join Thursday evening’s meeting in “good faith.”
Brian Flannery, who lives across the street from the site, said neither the archdiocese nor Eagle OZB tried to engage residents before moving ahead with the plan — and a “sparsely attended” November meeting doesn’t count, he said. The archdiocese should try to preserve the Holy Angels building, given its significance to the community, Flannery said.
“This feels like an opportunity zone cash grab to maximize as many units into a small piece of real estate as possible. It’s hard to see it as anything other than that, like squeezing as many doors onto a small corner lot as they can as they can fit in, and they said as much to get funding for this project. It needs this much density, and it’s the only the only viable option, which is their problem, not ours,” Flannery said.
Flannery’s neighbor, Tom Schneider, shared that frustration.
“I think a lot of people weren’t quite clear about what was going on. It was a surprise for many,” said Schneider, who’s lived across the street for four years. “People seem united on taking some actionable measures, including reaching out to the archdiocese to see what’s going on, because another revelation was that the sale [of Holy Angels] hasn’t actually gone through yet.”
Neighbors also said there isn’t enough parking for 48 apartments, pointing to existing issues with parking in the area, especially during Sunday services at Our Lady of Africa. Public transit isn’t as robust as developers have presented, Schenider said. The closest train station is a half-mile away, and nearby buses don’t run as frequently as advertised, he said.
“Their whole logic is that they’re going to target people who are more likely to use public transportation, and they have no way to control for that,” Schneider said. “You can’t tell your residents they can’t own a car, and the public transportation access isn’t all that great to begin with.”
Neighbors like Desmond Orr want the project scrapped completely and urged neighbors to oppose the sale of the property.
“This building hasn’t been purchased yet. … While I’m as big a capitalist as anybody else, I don’t want an eyesore on my block. And I think that we need to be really clear that this is something we do not want. Everything these guys have said seems to be not quite accurate,” Orr said.
The historical and cultural significance of the former Holy Angels school should also be considered before the wrecking ball comes, said Kendra Parzen, advocacy manager for Landmarks Illinois. Parzen told Block Club the building was up for landmark consideration in 2018 and eventually denied, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be reconsidered.
Developers did not respond to many of the neighbors’ comments, saying only that they would love to find a way to offer more parking nearby, maybe at city-owned lot on Oakwood and Vincennes Avenue.
“Another option is to find some parking on city land. … And it’s not paved and it’s not managed, but it fits quite a few cars, and the aldermen and I have been talking about perhaps trying to utilize that land,” said Eagle OZ’s Jamie Nahon.
In a statement, Robinson said his office “understood the concerns of residents regarding the zoning variance that was passed by the zoning board.”
“It’s important to note that we held a community meeting on November 28, where only one objection was received from only one resident via email, and we immediately connected him to the development team for them to directly address his concerns and open a line of communication,” Robinson said.
In addition to the community meeting, Robinson’s office offered to give nearby residents parking permits, something Flannery said isn’t helpful because it discriminates against potential tenants.
Flannery, a Oakwood Blvd. Neighborhood Association board member, said the group planned to meet again Tuesday with other neighbors to discuss next steps.
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