Arlington Heights Church Can Expand, Demolish 90-Year-Old School

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Village officials approved last week plans by St. James Catholic Church to level its vacated, 90-year-old former elementary school and expand and remodel its Colonial-style church along Arlington Heights Road, the Arlington Heights Post reports. The site of the demolished school will be used for a new parking lot, and the church renovations will allow all Sunday services to be held there, the report added.

Although the Arlington Heights Village Board approved the church's expansion plans, trustees shot down St. James' request to have the village waive the annual cost of about $2,700 to run the traffic light near the property, the report stated. Fairness to all taxpayers and a need to keep as many revenue sources as possible were the reasons officials gave for denying the request at the Jan. 16 board meeting, the report added.

Improvements to the church on the east side of Arlington Heights Road will include adding an elevator and expanding the lobby and worship areas on the first floor, the report stated. Those renovations to the building, which was built in the 1950s, will make it compliant with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, the report added. An adoration chapel, larger kitchen and new meeting areas also are planned for the church's basement, according to the Post.

One of the biggest effects the remodeling will have on the church will be felt on Sundays. For space reasons, St. James currently holds two services at the Bowman Center, a facility that doubles as a school gym for the church, the report stated. The expansion will finally be able to eliminate that need.

The former St. James Catholic School — a three-story, red brick building at 831 N. Arlington Heights Road — has been empty since 2009, the report stated. That's when students there began attending the church's remodeled middle school across the street, the report added.

More via Arlington Heights Post

St. James Catholic Church and its vacant former elementary school, which will be demolished to make room for a new parking lot. (Image via Google Earth)