WICKER PARK — A 116-year-old brick church with stone accents will be demolished soon and replaced by six luxury condos, according to the developers who bought the former Original New Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church earlier this month.
“We are very excited at the opportunity and to begin construction on West Crystal. As a Wicker Park resident myself, we were captivated by this location,” developer Peter Childs said. “Everything an urban dweller could desire is an arm’s length away; walking distance to the trendy nightlife, shopping, and ever so popular and growing restaurant scene.”
Peter Childs and his father Jamie Childs, owners of Childs Development, bought the church building at 2122 W. Crystal St. in Wicker Park for $1,751,123 on August 8, county records show.
On Monday, the city issued a permit to wreck and remove the existing brick church. Childs Development specializes in high-end new construction multi and single-family homes.
Childs said they hope to start the church demolition within the next 10 days and aim to finish the condos by mid-summer 2019, if everything goes as planned.
Since the lot is 14 feet wider than most 50-foot-wide standard lots, all of the condos will be oversized luxury condos with “the extra width allowing for more expansive, flowing floor plans,” Childs said.
The plan calls for four three-bedroom, two-bathroom condos, and two three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom units. The duplex units will ask $969,000 and offer a private garage and a rooftop terrace. Prices will be $689,000 and $769,000 for the middle floor and penthouse units, respectively, with the penthouse units offering private rooftop terraces and skyline views.
