The first permit to build on the site of the former Ravenswood Presbyterian Church at 4300 North Hermitage Avenue in Ravenswood hit the Chicago Data Portal on January 20. Addressed as 4304 North Hermitage, this is the first of an expected six homes for the site, which begins at the corner with West Cullom Avenue and occupies 4300 through 4318.
The first permit calls for a two-story plus basement single family residence with a rear deck and pergola, plus an additional deck atop the second floor. Only two surface parking spaces are included, though it would be no surprise to see a detached garage added before the permit is approved. it is not known if the remaining five permits will all include the same specifications. 4300 N Hermitage Inc, registered to the same address as AM Realty Management in Skokie, is named as the developer, and Red Architects is the architect of record. The permit does not name a general contractor yet, and since it is still pending, the reported cost is not yet listed.
Demolition of the church is ongoing, though progress seems to have slowed down while the demo crew sorts materials from the work that has already been done. The frame-construction caretakers home was the first structure to go, and required its own demolition permit. The two-story masonry school building is also gone now, save for portions of the west and south walls, perhaps to deter curious onlookers. The final structure, the sanctuary, is now mostly destroyed, though the majority of the east façade is mostly intact. Late-day sunlight coming through the stained glass windows makes for a striking visual.
No timeline has been established for the start of residential construction, and there is still considerable work to do to remove all that remains of the church. It is also not known if we should expect to see all the new permits come through soon, or if they’ll be permitted and built in phases.
The following gallery, not ordered chronologically, represents photos taken from demolition progress after our first visit on December 6. Our most recent site visit was on January 18.
This is an image from January 18, our most recent visit to the demolition site.
early demolition on the school building, 12/10/2025.
Setting sunlight on what remained of the sanctuary, 12/23/2025.
Evening sunlight shining through stained glass windows on the church’s east facade.
At right, a large pile of stone from the sanctuary, presumably to be palletized for salvage.
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It will be a real shame if all of those architectural elements just get landfilled. The pics lead me to believe that is the case.
A beautiful church replaced with Chicago slop.
A beautiful Chicago church replaced with cheap contemporary slop**
Words matter.
Thanks for all of the artful photographs Daniel to document the process. I always found this to be a beautiful church and little campus. The reality of it is a shame, but new life will come to the location. Hopefully as much as possible has been removed and saved and that even more can be salvaged.
I hope that someone was allowed to salvage those stained glass windows and the cross above the alter.