The owners of a historic black Lincoln Park church are now looking to sell the building as fast as possible, after a proposed sale and redevelopment of the property was blocked by area residents.
Hermon Baptist Church was founded in 1876 by African-American domestic workers who were tired of commuting to the South Side to worship. Hermon had a deal in place to sell the property to a JV of Zev Salomon and Ranquist Development Group, which wanted to build condos, according to DNAInfo.
The plan would have required a zoning change, but residents of nearby Kennelly Square condos rejected the proposal. Kennelly Square owns the air rights above Hermon Baptist, and one of the reasons the condo association opposed the plan was that their views would be obstructed by the proposed redevelopment. Hermon Baptist's pastor, the Rev. Keith Edwards, now says the church simply wants to sell the building zoned as-is. The listing agent for the property, Scott Siegel, said Hermon Baptist was "held hostage" by Kennelly Square, and added the church will now see a seven-figure loss on a sale. [DNA]
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