Christ Presbyterian Church may get new home in Carol Stream

A church currently meeting in Wheaton has received approval to move into a new location in neighboring Carol Stream.

Christ Presbyterian Church has been holding services in a warehouse at Crossway in Wheaton, a nonprofit publisher of religious books and an English Standard Version Bible.

Now the church is planning to move to a two-story brick building at 371 S. Schmale Road in Carol Stream.

Carol Stream’s plan commission/zoning board of appeals on Sept. 9 approved a special-use permit for a space of worship for the Schmale Road location. The city council approved the permit on Sept. 16. Both were unanimous votes.

Jon Nielson, the pastor of Christ Presbyterian Wheaton, said on Friday that the church is still “finalizing details” for the proposed move to the new location.

The intended new home for the church is a former medical office building that has been vacant for more than five years, Carol Stream assistant planner Bravo Berisha said. The building is roughly 39,000 square feet.

“It’s not going to take much renovation, but they are going to renovate the first floor to include a 570-seat sanctuary,” Berisha said.

In addition to the first-floor sanctuary, the plans call for a 3,300-square-foot lobby, a meeting room, and offices. The first floor also would have a “Kids Hub” and “Kids Corridor,” plus rooms for a nursery, prekindergarten, and separate rooms for kindergarten through fifth-grade students.

According to the plans, the second floor of the building would be devoted to offices and storage space.