The United Baptist Church property is located at 4242 West Roosevelt Road, on a parcel of 56, 750 square feet consisting of 19 contiguous lots each of which is 125 feet in depth with 25 feet of frontage (total 475 feet of frontage) along the North side of West Roosevelt Road- a major East-West thoroughfare.  Also included are nine non-contiguous lots behind the primary parcel which are used for over-flow parking. The property is located in the Eastern portion of Cook County in the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (“MSA”).

 This MSA has the third largest population by the 1990 Census of 7.835 Million.  More specifically, the property is located in Chicago’s “West Side,” with downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan directly East, Midway Airport directly to the South, O’Hare International Airport to the Northwest and Cicero to the West.  The property is located on Roosevelt Road (renamed “United Baptist Church Drive” at this location) which is a primary East/West artery connecting Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline to points west.

Access to and from the property is considered excellent with close access to several East/West and North/South arteries including interstate Highway 290- the Eisenhower Expressway.  In general, this part of Chicago is an older inner-city neighborhood, although its close-in convenient access to the Chicago downtown areas has placed it in the path of revitalization efforts which have begun from the downtown area and appear to be spreading west.

 These efforts have included Federal and State sponsored town-home living units and villages; a multi-million dollar NBA arena (the “United Center”) which is home to professional basketball’s Chicago Bulls; a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art Juvenile Justice Center; and many other commercial, residential and recreational facilities and areas.

Improvements To The Property Include Two Buildings And Site Improvements:

New Worship Center

In 1998, the Church completed construction of its new 27,183 square foot Worship Center.  The building is rectangular in shape and provides a sanctuary with permanent seating for up to1500 people.

The new Worship Center designed by Dixon and Associates, Architects, Chicago, Illinois.  The two-story brick/masonry building seats 1500 on the main floor and 60 in the second story balcony.  In addition, a multi-tiered choir stage has capacity for over 200.  The facility also contains a lower level which houses a Fellowship Hall and commercial kitchen.  Other areas of the building include Administrative offices, Nursery areas, restrooms, sound and tape areas and storage areas.

Various levels of the building are accessible via stairs and elevator.  The cost of the new Worship Center and related site improvements was approximately $3 Million, including “hard” and “soft” costs. 

The Church issued first mortgage bonds in 1997 and 1998, and borrowed funds on a second-mortgage loan in 1998, which provided in the aggregate approximately $2.1 Million in construction funds.  The balance of approximately $900,000 was paid in cash raised by the Church.  Of this amount, $700,000 in cash was raised through its members’ building fund contributions in the three years preceding the ground-breaking.

Original Worship Facility

Attached to the new Worship Center on the west end of the site is the Church’s 10,311 square foot Youth Church with the capacity seating of 200 people, and the Education and Youth Administration building.  This wood frame brick exterior building was used as the Church’s original sanctuary and was converted to its current use after completion of the new Worship Center.

The 8,311 square foot first floor contains offices and fellowship area, while 2,000 square foot lower level contains a commercial kitchen, and is used for neighborhood ministries, such as the Church’s food shelf program.

Site Improvements

Site improvements include 83 on-site parking spaces, concrete walks, and stairways, landscaping, signage, lighting and ornamental/functional wrought iron fencing.