The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday approved the sales of three former school buildings to buyers hoping to turn the sites into housing and a community center — but it could be years before those projects get off the ground.
The properties are the old sites of Bontemps Elementary in Englewood, Henson Elementary in North Lawndale and Shedd Elementary in Roseland. Two of the buildings were part of mass closures in 2013, when former Mayor Rahm Emanuel shuttered 50 schools, almost all on the South and West sides, scattering students to uncertain futures.
Vacant buildings are a reminder of that saga, and the district has made several attempts to sell them. The latest came in March when Chicago Public Schools put 20 vacant properties — mostly schools closed in 2013 — out for bid.
However, the board’s approval is only a small step in the process. Lack of funding, low community support, the condition of the buildings and other variables have stalled or killed previous deals, speaking to the district’s broader struggles to repurpose vacant schools.
The proposals for the three schools still have to be approved by either the City Council or the Public Building Commission, depending on which entity holds the title, before the deal is finalized. But new owners can still struggle to develop the sites. Some properties sold before the pandemic still sit empty.
The district said it periodically reviews sold properties to monitor their progress.
Many of the vacant properties require repairs. Some have been repeatedly broken into and stripped for copper, Stephen Stults, director of real estate at CPS, said at a board meeting earlier this month. Others have had fires set inside of them.
Henson and Bontemps both have “significant water infiltration” throughout their structures, according to Stults.
The district spends between $75,000 and $150,000 per year to maintain each of its vacant properties, depending on their size, Stults said.
Forty-six buildings were left behind after the 50 schools shuttered in 2013. Fourteen of them — including Henson and Bontemps, until their sales close — are still publicly owned and vacant.
MKB Business Strategies agreed to buy Henson for $25,000 and wants to demolish the structure to construct 11 single family homes and 13 two- or three-flats, Stults said. MKB was the second-highest bidder, but CPS selected the company because the community expressed more support for its proposal.
Affordable housing developer and former professional basketball player Devereaux Peters bid $75,000 for the Bontemps site. Her plan is to demolish the building and build a 72-unit multi-family affordable housing development with a fitness center, community room and rooftop terrace. The site would also include a 60-unit affordable senior living facility.
CPS previously tried to sell the Bontemps building in 2018, when the board approved a bid from non-profit developer IFF. But the deal never closed.
Meanwhile, the Peace for Preston Foundation plans to turn the old Shedd building into a community center offering youth programming, mentoring, counseling and job-training services. The foundation is led by Dionne Mhoone, mother of slain Chicago Police Officer Aréanah Preston.
Mhoone bid $25,000 for the property. In 2023 she launched a fundraising campaign to build a community center in her daughter’s honor and provide a safe space for youth. It’s raised about half of its $75,000 goal.
All three projects have letters of support from their local alderperson, according to Stults. CPS strongly encourages bidders to get the community backing to increase the likelihood that their development projects will move forward. Potential buyers must also present their plans at community meetings.
“If there is a local official who is not supporting the project due to things like zoning and other matters, that really could stop the development in its tracks,” Stults said.
In 2017, community concerns derailed a plan to turn Austin’s former Emmet School — which also shuttered in 2013 — into a health center. Ultimately, the Westside Health Authority and partners redeveloped the site into a community hub that opened this summer, 12 years after the school closed.
That’s one of a few dozen buildings from the 2013 closures that have been sold in the decade-plus since then. Some have become apartment buildings, daycare centers and private schools.
Other properties that were sold years ago have yet to be redeveloped. For example, when developer Van Vincet took ownership of the former Songhai Elementary in West Pullman and Yale Elementary in Grand Crossing in 2019, plans for the sites included “clean energy” facilities.
But the developer requires more time to “finance, renovate and complete” the projects due to the COVID pandemic, according to board records.
“My buildings are in the process of redevelopment and are secured,” Vincent wrote in an email response to questions about his vacant sites.