A towering red-brick church by William LeBaron Jenney sits on the Near West Side, just a short walk from the United Center's sea of parking lots. Greater Union Baptist Church has finished major exterior stabilization this year, but remains closed for in-person services while leaders wrestle with a failed HVAC system, unpaid utility bills, and interior repairs still waiting in the wings. As the United Center's owners push forward with a massive redevelopment next door, congregants and preservationists are watching closely to see whether that wave of investment might help save the church.
1901 Project Could Shift Neighborhood Fortunes
The United Center's 1901 Project is described as a privately financed, multi-phase plan to turn roughly 55 acres of parking into housing, retail, parks, and a 6,000-seat music venue, a program its backers peg at roughly $7 billion in investment, according to the United Center. City approvals have put the project into motion, and developers say the first phase will include housing, a hotel, and community amenities. Reporting on the city's approvals by Block Club Chicago notes that the plan's scale is meant to anchor long-term change on the West Side.
A Rare Jenney Sanctuary
Constructed in the 1880s as the Church of the Redeemer, the building is one of the few surviving Chicago works by William LeBaron Jenney, the architect widely credited with inventing the steel-frame skyscraper. Inside, the sanctuary features semicircular pews beneath hammer-beam trusses, bronze chandeliers, and large stained-glass panels, details that helped secure a city landmark designation in 2023. Preservation groups and the city's landmark staff have highlighted the church's architectural significance and its role in Near West Side history, per Urbanize Chicago.
Facade Repairs Done With City Grant
The congregation completed roughly $750,000 in exterior masonry work this year after the city authorized an Adopt-a-Landmark grant to stabilize the facade. City records show the Department of Planning and Development awarded a $750,000 grant under Ordinance O2025-0015543 to support preservation work at 1956 W. Warren Blvd. According to Chicago City Council records, the funding covered chimney rebuilding, terra-cotta repair and extensive repointing to secure the building's envelope.
Inside, Systems And Bills Have Forced Services Online
The exterior work did not fix the church's day-to-day survival problems. Rev. Walter Arthur McCray told the Chicago Sun-Times that the congregation stopped meeting in person after the building's HVAC system failed in 2022 and that the church has "not been able to meet and open our doors." City utilities were later shut off after an unpaid gas bill of about $14,000, and McCray says membership has dwindled to roughly 40 people, who now worship online.
Redevelopment Promises Community Partnerships
The 1901 Project's public materials include a "Neighborhood Partnership Commitment" that pledges local hiring, community programming and investments aimed at West Side neighborhoods. Project documents and spokespeople say the plan is intended to generate new tax revenue and long-term economic impact for the area. The project's neighborhood commitments and the developer's public pages outline several channels, including community funds, hiring pipelines and nonprofit partnerships, that preservation advocates say could be tapped to support repairs at nearby landmarks like Greater Union, per the project's commitment document.
What Comes Next For Greater Union
McCray and preservationists say finishing the sanctuary will take far more than patching plaster and polishing pews. The congregation estimates interior restoration and accessibility work at about $250,000 to $300,000, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, and advocates are urging city officials and the 1901 Project team to steer neighborhood benefits toward urgent repairs. If developers and public officials follow through on their neighborhood commitments, a combination of smaller grants and targeted contributions could close the gap and, advocates hope, bring Greater Union's pews back into full use.
