Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Little Flower Parish Rectory Is For Sale If You Need 17 Bedrooms, 12 Baths

 The former parish is for sale as a house.
The former parish is for sale as a house.
View Full Caption
Century 21

AUBURN GRESHAM — Did you grow up in the old Little Flower parish? Or have you walked by 8026 S. Wood St. and wondered what's inside?

For $295,000, the parish rectory can be yours.

The Archdiocese of Chicago is offering the old rectory — 17 bedrooms! 12 bathrooms! 14,000 square feet! — as a single family home.

The rectory used to house the priests of Little Flower, a once proud South Side Roman Catholic parish that still holds a fond place in many former parishioners' hearts, whether they've moved to the suburbs or out of state.

The church dates back more than 80 years, but has been closed since the 1990s.

“Architecturally, it is just a spectacular building,” said John Kmiecik, the property’s Century 21 listing agent.

Andrea Watson says the agent hopes a non-profit buys the building:

The 14,000-square-foot rectory has a stone exterior, custom woodwork, a full basement, a garage and more.

“The main level is largely common space, so you’ll have dining rooms, gathering spaces, a private study and a full service kitchen,” Kmiecik said. “The second and third floors are comprised of sort of mini-suites, which is where the priests used to live.”

He said 15-20 people could live there at one time. Each suite includes a bedroom, a small sitting room and a private bathroom.

“In the day, it was really quite remarkable,” he said, adding that the asking price of $295,000 is a deal because to rebuild it today, it would go on the market for at least $1.4 million.

The building also housed a private residence for the pastor, which included parts of the second and third floor. He had a large two-story sitting room, a library, private bedroom and bathroom, along with a place to worship, Kmiecik said.

The parish also had two schools on its property — a high school and a grammar school.

The realtor is hoping that a nonprofit takes over the building to help serve the community. Kmiecik said that he wants to see something for either the homeless or homeless veterans.

There are some maintenance issues, but nothing too terrible considering the low asking price, he said.

“If we were asking $750,000 for it, somebody could expect it to be in mint condition, with everything exactly as it should be,” Kmiecik said.

“The uniqueness of [this building] is that it was built in the early 1930s, and I think that the cost, at that time, was probably about $100,000,” he said. “So in the day, it was probably one of the most significant rectories in the city of Chicago.”

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here: