Commission approves alley vacation and parcel dedication to allow new Seton Catholic school

The commission approved two related items (Files 250,394 and 241,976) that will create a contiguous site for Seton Catholic Schools to build a new roughly 37,000-square-foot two-story K–8 school on the city’s Near West Side.

DCD Planner Jonathan Latsko said the certified survey map redivides lots and dedicates public-way land while the alley vacation will allow the north–south alley to be rerouted eastward and exit at S. 20th Street. The changes were requested by Seton Catholic Schools to permit a contiguous campus so students and staff need not cross an active alley; staff recommended conditional approval, noting that a narrow buffer zone between the new alley and an existing adjacent house must be conveyed to avoid creating a substandard lot.

Nut graf: The combined approvals allow Seton to assemble parcels into an L-shaped site for a new school, reduce the number of points where students and vehicles could interact, and enable better site security and programming for recreation and parent drop-off.

Stu LaRose of Zimmerman Architectural Studios said the 37,000-square-foot building is organized with classrooms around the perimeter and multipurpose space at the center; the proposal includes a decorative six-foot fence around the school perimeter, phased parking, and an on-site playground that the applicant said will be available for supervised neighborhood uses. Brian Couch, president of Seton Catholic Schools, and project team members said the new building replaces an existing 1950s school and that Seton has obtained substantial new markets tax credit financing toward the project.

Commissioners asked about the alley buffer width (staff noted the buffer is roughly 10 feet), neighborhood outreach and how the phased construction would maintain school operations; Seton representatives said students will remain in the existing building while the new facility is built, then the old building will be removed in a subsequent phase. The commission approved the CSM and the alley vacation; both motions passed unanimously with Commissioners Allison Nemec, Ronnell Washington, Katrina Crane, Tariq Moody and Jesus Gonzales recorded as voting aye.

Ending: Seton said it will continue neighborhood outreach and that the project aims to improve site safety and community programming; recordation of the CSM and final DPW acknowledgements are prerequisites to recording.