The 49th Ward office will join the Ignation Mission Center (IMC) and Loyola University for a community meeting to discuss the future of the St. Ignatius campus located at 6559 N. Glenwood. The meeting will take place on Monday, July 20th, at 6:30 p.m. in the church's main sanctuary.

In 2021, the Archdiocese merged St. Ignatius with nearby St. Gertrude, closing the St. Ignatius campus due to declining church attendance and diminishing financial resources to maintain the building. In 2023, Loyola announced it had purchased the site for redevelopment. Since its closure, a group of parishioners, the Ignation Mission Center, has worked closely with the Archdiocese, my office, and Loyola University to find a solution that continues the mission of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the religious order of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)—known for its missionary work—while preserving the historic cathedral.

The Ignatian Mission Center and Loyola University will join my office to discuss the redevelopment and reimagining of the St. Ignatius campus. The proposal includes preserving the cathedral and rectory on 6559-6565 N. Glenwood by creating a social service center on the St. Ignatius campus that would house a women's shelter, a childcare center, a food pantry, and provide space for a lay association for religious gatherings and devotions. Since its closure, the IMC has run a weekly food pantry out of 1735 W. Greenleaf Avenue to help our neighbors fighting hunger. The proposal would shift these services to the church basement alongside a social services center that would offer health screenings, counseling, and community events. The plans for the Ignatian Mission Center on Glenwood do not trigger a zoning change, but would require a special use permit to operate out of the space. 

Loyola University is proposing to demolish the former Waldorf campus buildings at 1300-1320 W. Loyola to build student apartments. Their proposal includes 65 student apartments reserved for upper-class and graduate students to free up privately owned community housing. They have also committed to providing $625,000 over a period of 10-years to the Ignatian Mission Center to support its programs and services. Finally, they have committed to donating 1,500 square feet of rent-free community space to IMC and its partners. Loyola explored retrofitting the Waldorf School campus to avoid demolition, but the repairs required to bring the building into compliance with the City's building code made the effort financially infeasible. Loyola's plans would trigger a zoning change from the current RS-3 designation to RM-5.5.

Learn more about both proposals during the community meeting on Monday, July 20, at 6:30 p.m., at St. Ignatius Cathedral, 6559 N. Glenwood.