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…..