City Church Chicago has received a foundation permit for its long-planned new home at 1700 W. Adams St., clearing the way for general contractor ARCO/Murray to begin work on the building's foundations at the northeast corner of S. Paulina St. and W. Adams St. The vacant site sits along the CTA L tracks, which run the length of the property's western edge, just blocks from the United Center.
As reported by Urbanize Chicago, the new two-story precast concrete building was designed by GMA Architects and ARCO/Murray, and it will include a worship space seating up to 1,500 people. That main hall will use removable chairs so the space can flex between weekend worship services, weddings, and expos, while the rest of the building is planned for multipurpose classrooms for mid-week adult discipleship classes and custom-designed spaces for children and families.
City Church Chicago was founded in 2010 by pastors Kent and Alli Munsey and currently holds services in a rented auditorium at 777 N. Green St. in River West, according to Chicago YIMBY. The church is relocating to the Near West Side. The vacant Paulina Street property is near the stadium, per the same outlet.
What the New Building Will Look Like
The design calls for a main entrance overlooking the intersection of Paulina and Adams, framed by a glass storefront entry and topped with two large digital signage boards facing south and east. The building's eastern elevation is set to feature thin, tall windows with pointed tops, while the south side takes on a gridded, industrial-looking facade. The plans also include classrooms for community workshops and spaces intended for ministry partnerships with new and existing community groups.
The project has been represented in multiple design iterations, with designs associated with LIVE Design Group, Indiana-based Hutton & Hutton Architects, and the current GMA Architects and ARCO/Murray team.
City Council Approval and a Bigger Master Plan
Located in the 27th Ward, the proposal went before the Chicago Plan Commission in April 2024 before the full City Council approved the development later that summer, according to the City of Chicago. That approval included rezoning the site from a C1-3 Neighborhood Commercial District to a B3-5 Community Shopping District, ahead of establishing an overall Residential-Business Planned Development designation, according to the City of Chicago's Plan Commission records.
The initial phase of the complex, centered on the main worship hall, carries an estimated construction cost of $16 million across a 40,000-square-foot footprint, Chicago YIMBY reports. But the approved master plan doesn't stop there. It also allows for a potential third phase featuring a 184-foot-tall, 12-story residential tower with 76 housing units, 15 of which would be considered affordable, according to reporting from the same outlet's foundation permit coverage. No timeline for that later phase has been announced.
Parking Questions Near a Growing Corridor
The approved plans include no dedicated on-site public vehicle parking, meaning worshippers will need to rely on nearby surface lots around the United Center or the adjacent CTA Pink Line, per Chicago YIMBY's reporting on the project. That's a notable wrinkle for a congregation expecting to fill a 1,500-seat hall.
The church's arrival adds another layer to a corridor already being reshaped by enormous private investment. City Church Chicago's site sits near the United Center, as does The 1901 Project, a $7 billion, 55-acre mega-development led by the owners of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks that broke ground in June, aiming to turn surrounding parking lots into a mixed-use neighborhood, according to Urbanize Chicago's coverage of that groundbreaking. The first phase of that project alone is valued at $500 million and includes a 6,000-seat music hall, a 233-room hotel, and new green space, backed by a Cook County Class 7(b) property tax incentive approved in May, according to the City of Chicago.
Hoodline previously reported that Bulls and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf had been buying up land near the United Center, coverage that noted City Church Chicago's planned expansion on the adjacent property even before the foundation permit was issued. With the permit now in hand, ARCO/Murray can begin foundation work, placing the church at the center of one of the Near West Side's most active development corridors.
