The former Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church at 832 N. Leclaire, previously occupied by St. Mark International Christian Church until more than a decade ago, may have a buyer.
Commercial real estate agent Fermin Perez of Century 21 Circle said Monday that the church, which has been vacant for years and is pocked by graffiti and broken windows, along with structural problems, is for sale for $90,000 and could be purchased by an unnamed nonprofit as early as Thursday.
He said that while St. Mark is technically the owner of the property, Brea, Calif.-based Ministry Partners Investments Company LLC is the mortgagee and will be meeting with Perez and the nonprofit that morning to discuss a deal and plans for the property, which could include a church, community center and possibly apartments.
“It’s going to be considered a short sale, which is when the financial institution is willing to accept less than what is owed,” Perez said. “The only one that can accept those terms is the financial institution. They are on board. They aren’t going to get what’s owed to them. They are taking a huge loss here.”
But he noted that the potential buyer is “a nonprofit entity and they get a lot of government grants. They are capable.”
“Every time we’ve pumped (the basement) out, it’s $8,000),” Perez said. “It’s been terrible. Hopefully this group I have right now, they are a big contractor. They have the capability. This is a combined 31,000 square feet between the two buildings.”
He also said the church will not be demolished, though he added that “there is $2 million of work that has to be done there.”
Emma Mitts, 37th Ward alderwoman, said Friday she’s seen many homeless people around the church.
“I think the residents would prefer having housing there,” she said. “I do not want to demo it if they can save it. We’re always open for options, taking out the old and bringing in the new. There used to be complaints there from residents.”
The city of Chicago filed suit in April 2025 in Cook County Circuit Court against St. Mark. The cause for the case was continued for jurisdiction to June 8 and then was continued again to Aug. 10. On that date, the matter was further continued to Oct. 5, and the court directed “the church president to hire counsel and apply for renovation permit. If no permit is filed, the city will move the case to trial,” the Department of Law spokesperson said.
“The owner of record is St. Mark International Christian Church,” a spokesperson for the City of Chicago Department of Law said Friday, with “no record of foreclosure being filed.”
That conflicts with the understanding of St. Mark pastor Andre Thurmon, whose church has locations in Maywood and Kennesaw, Ga.
“Ministry Partners technically owns that property,” Thurmon said Monday. “We walked away from that property 12 years ago. It became a money pit.”
Thurmon confirmed that neither he nor any representative from St. Mark was at the Aug. 10 judicial hearing. In fact, he said his church found out about the hearing after it had
Austin Weekly News tried unsuccessfully Monday to reach Ministry Partners.
Nefsas’Hyatt Brown, director of public affairs for the City of Chicago Department of Buildings, said that due to the church’s vacancy status, “it automatically joins the city’s pre-established demolition court call; however, the city does not have a demolition order, as the case is ongoing.”
She added that the demolition call does not automatically mean the church will be demolished.
“As the case continues, ownership can pull the necessary permits to get the property back in compliance with the Chicago construction code,” Brown said. “Following the permit application, (Department of Buildings) will monitor ongoing work to ensure compliance and determine whether to pursue a demolition order.”
The city’s lawsuit contends that there have been unsafe conditions at the vacant and open premises since at least September 2024. That includes missing and warped flooring, missing roof shingles, cracked rafters, an electrical system with exposed wiring and a plumbing system with missing fixtures, stripped and inoperable. There was also about six inches of standing water in the basement.
According to the Archdiocese of Chicago, Our Lady Help of Christians was founded as a mission of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Oak Park in the 1890s. The foundation of the current church building was laid in August 1926. Cardinal George Mundelein dedicated that building just over a year later in November 1927. In 1936, its school was expanded, with ground broken for a new school in summer 1960, which included classrooms, a gymnasium and a library. The archdiocese sold the church and rectory to St. Mark in March 2006.
The archdiocese currently owns the school building at 819 and 831-847 N. Leamington Ave., but is attempting to sell it through Chicago-based Baum Realty Group for an asking price of $1.25 million.