St. Charles’ Historic Barry House to be sold to developer, restored with help from city

Shaw Local

Instead of demolishing a historic St. Charles landmark to build a parking lot, the church that owns the building is now planning to sell it to a Geneva developer who will rehabilitate the space with $425,000 help from the city.

The city has encouraged the rehabilitation of the historic Barry House since 2017. That seems to be happening after the city approved a tax increment financing redevelopment agreement with Baker Memorial Methodist Church and developers, Geneva Heights LLC.

The church is next door to the historic Barry House at 217 Cedar Ave. The structure was owned by Judge William D. Barry in the mid-1800s.

Site map for the Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles and adjacent buildings on Cedar Avenue planned to be demolished. — Site map for the Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles. The church wanted to demolish the Barry House (property 217) for extra parking. A new deal with the city has the building being restored. (Provided by the City of St. Charles)

The Methodist church has owned the historic building since 1993.

The church previously wanted to demolish the Barry House to construct extra parking for its large congregation.

The home at 217 Cedar Ave. in St. Charles, known in the St. Charles list of historic buildings as the Barry House, was formerly owned by Judge William D. Barry in the mid 1800s. The home was purchased by the Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles in 1993 and the church is now planning to demolish the building to construct parking lots. — The home at 217 Cedar Ave. in St. Charles, known as the historic Barry House, was owned by Judge William D. Barry in the mid-1800s. The home was purchased by Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles in 1993. (Provided by the City of St. Charles)

But the city, church and developers recently came to an agreement after several months of discussion. The agreement stipulates that the developers will purchase the Barry House from the church and the adjacent property at 211-215 Cedar Ave. for $525,000.

The city is providing the developers a $125,000 grant for the purchase and another $50,000 to restore the Barry House’s building facade to its original stone condition.

The city also agreed to construct 10 to 13 parking spaces along Third Avenue adjacent to the church for $250,000. The spaces will allow public parking, except during church service hours on Sundays. The agreement also enables the church to sell its northern parking lot. The church will keep its southern parking lot.

The third annual St. Charles Singers’ “Choral Connections” concerts are set for Feb. 20 and 21 at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles. — Choral singers perform at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Charles. (Photo by Nathan J. Silverman)

The money for the parking spaces is coming from the city’s Central Downtown TIF.

TIF districts are designed to provide financial incentives by channeling property tax revenue for back into the property within the TIF to help redevelop the area. This means the growth in property taxes goes to infrastructure, not schools and other public institutions, for a set timeframe.

Under the agreement, the developers are expected to restore the Barry House property in accordance with the local historic preservation standards by May, 1, 2027.