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WICKER PARK — An almost 3-acre property in the middle of Wicker Park is for sale — and a school that’s called it home for more than a century hopes to be its next owner.
Josephinum Academy of the Sacred Heart has occupied a portion of the property at 1501 N. Oakley Blvd. since 1890 and moved into its current building in the 1950s, Josephinum President Rich McMenamin said in an interview last week.
The 2.8-acre site is currently home to the school building, a large sports field, a maintenance building and a convent that has been empty for several years.
Now, the site is for sale by its owners, the Sisters of Christian Charity, a Catholic religious order with locations in Wilmette and New Jersey.
A representative for the Sisters confirmed Monday the site was for sale but declined to comment further.
Josephinum holds a lease on the property until 2025, McMenamin said. But the sale could lead to major redevelopment in the center of a residential part of Wicker Park.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoA marketing pamphlet distributed by listing agent CBRE called the property “a rare opportunity for a full block development site in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.”
The site is surrounded by mostly residential properties although sits just south of the North Avenue commercial district and a few blocks from the Damen Blue Line station.
“The development land under the structure is highly valuable, but the existing buildings are built well and function well if repurposing rather than demolition was of a higher and best use for a purchaser,” the pamphlet reads.
But leaders of Josephinum Academy hope that will be unnecessary; they want to purchase the property and continue operating the school as-is.
“We know the Sisters are beginning to market the property and we’ve been in communication with them about our interest in purchasing the property,” McMenamin said. “Our main interest is in continuing the school. And so I think our interest would be in acquiring the entire school site, with the field and the three buildings.”
Listing agent Mike Nardini said the Sisters are open to a possible offer from the school, as well as other ideas.
“The sisters are openminded either way, whether it’s a land redevelopment, a school repurposing, or otherwise,” he said. “The community is going to weigh in, and they’re going to want to make sure we’re doing the right thing with the kinds of uses, the density.”
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoThe sale has prompted Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) to seek preliminary neighborhood feedback. His office has launched a survey to hear from neighbors about what they would like to see at the site, if anything at all.
Because of the property’s size, it could require a Planned Development designation, which would trigger additional city review and opportunities for community input.
“The zoning lot is 122,733 square feet, with Residential Townhome (RT-4) zoning. For basic comparison to a standard City block, this site could include as many as 36 typical zoning lots,” the survey reads. “Including the school building on the site leaves an equivalent space of at least 12 typical zoning lots that could potentially be redeveloped.”
La Spata said while many of the details are still preliminary, he supports the school in their interest to stay at the property.
“They’re an incredible asset for Wicker Park,” La Spata said in an email.
Nardini said the site is currently appraised at $24 million. He said the unknown future of the property means an asking price has yet to be determined.
“It’s going to depend on, is it a reuse of the building? Is it a school? Is it going to be a residential repurpose? I think it’s all going to affect the price,” he said. “All we really have is an appraisal for the underlying RT-4 [zoning], that’s all we know.”
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoMcMenamin said the school’s only agenda is to keep operating on the site it’s called home for over a century.
He said Josephinum takes in students from all over the city and offers greatly subsidized tuition for most of its families. The school has also enrolled nine students who have fled the war in Ukraine over the past year, he said.
“We’ve been a vital part of this community for 133 years, and we’re working hard to make sure we’re going to be around for another 133 years,” McMenamin said
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