Village Seeks Buyer for Former Baci Building

Over the years, it’s been home to two churches and three restaurants.

Now, village officials are hoping to usher in a new era for the Old St. Mary’s Church building at 24018 W. Lockport St.

Built by the Unitarian Church in 1868, the building was most recently home to Baci Ristorante, which closed its doors in 2010.

In April, the village board agreed to spend $125,000 on the property, once marketed for $800,000.

“When the village board decided to purchase Old St. Mary’s Church, the goal was not only to maintain it but to bring it back on the tax rolls,” Village Planner Michael Garrigan said.

He added the village’s aim was to complete a “limited restoration/stabilization” on the building, which had fallen into disrepair, in order to attract a viable business to the site.

Since then, the village has spent $41,250 on a new roof for the building, along with completing mold mitigation.

The building has also undergone several façade renovations, most recently in 2010 when the village granted the previous owner a $23,000 grant for exterior and tuck-pointing work.

“The mold work started almost as soon as we acquired [the building],” Village Manager Brian Murphy said.

Village inspectors discovered mold in the basement, once the Baci banquet area, which was flooded with several feet of water.

Now that the building has been restored, the village hopes to attract the right buyer to help contribute to the downtown revitalization, Garrigan said.

Within the next few weeks, the village board will put out a request for proposal (RFP) on the former church.

“We’re hoping to narrow down [the timeline] within the next few weeks,” Garrigan said, adding staff is recommending a window of six to eight months to allow potential buyers to submit their proposals for the site, with a tentative deadline of May 10, 2013.

“We want to make sure we get the right developer, the right person with the right business background,” he said.

Trustee Paul Fay called the village’s decision to purchase the building “good government.”

“It is not uncommon for municipalities to purchase property to improve, enhance and restore,” he said, citing communities including Galena, St. Charles, Wheaton and Geneva.

Following Monday night’s Committee of the Whole building, trustees and village staff toured the former restaurant.

“Anyone who has been in the church in the past is in for a big surprise,” said Mayor Mike Collins, who was married at the Old St. Mary's Church. “It looks good if you’ve been watching the progress.”

Murphy noted that the former church’s ornate ceiling and stained-glass windows have been obscured since the site became a restaurant in the 1970s.

“This is the first time that light has shown through these windows,” he said.

Before it became a restaurant, the 5,000-square-foot building was a Unitarian church.

During the 1920s, the Catholic Church bought the building, which would become the original home of St. Mary Immaculate Parish. Known as the Old St. Mary’s Church, it remained a place of worship until the early 1970s, when the church moved to Route 59.

The building’s next incarnation saw it transformed into a restaurant — first The Sanctuary, then Mandy’s steakhouse. Most recently, it was home to Baci, an Italian restaurant that was a Plainfield fixture for two decades.

While it does not have landmark status, the 144-year-old building is located within the Downtown Historic District.

Anyone interested in buying the building must submit a request for proposal response form, which will eventually be available on the village website, Garrigan said.

The response must include the proposed purchase price, the nature of the proposed development and development schedule, a draft sketch of the proposed floor plan/layout, business and financial references, and a list of the developer’s commercial developments, current businesses in existence or completed within the last five years.

Once the village chooses a proposal, the prospective new owners will have 60 days to enter into a development agreement with the village.

Murphy said the restaurant as one of his first stops in the village when he first arrived in Plainfield in 2009.

Murphy, a Michigan native, said he was drawn to the distinctive-looking Gothic revival building when he came to interview for his current job.

“I had my very first meal in Plainfield here,” he said. “I saw [the building] and I said, ‘I have to check that place out.’”

READ MORE:

• Village OKs Roof Repairs for Former Baci Site

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