John Bays Buys St. Anthony's Catholic Church: 2 Plans Revealed

JOLIET ? Joliet's most prolific commercial real estate developer, John Bays, informed Joliet Patch during Monday's interview that he has acquired the former St. Anthony's Catholic Church building along North Scott Street in downtown Joliet from the Diocese of Joliet.

"It's going to be apartments or a banquet hall, or it could be both," Bays remarked while he was in the middle of another downtown Joliet redevelopment several blocks away.

If Bays only goes with apartments, "We'll either do eight big ones or 10 smaller ones," he said.

Bays said if he redevelops St. Anthony's Church for use as a banquet hall, he could still, theoretically, build approximately six apartments on the property.

The St. Anthony's Church is right near Joliet's Metra commuter lines. The Gateway Transportation Center is only a block away from the church, making it an ideal location for someone commuting to Chicago for work, Bays explained.

"The building is going to be nice. If we do have the banquet hall and six apartments, I would say upper scale," Bays promised.

In the coming weeks, Bays said he plans to install new flooring and paint the inside of the church.

If he converts St. Anthony's into eight to 10 apartments, Bays said they would all probably be one-bedroom or two-bedroom units.

"I don't plan on putting in studios," Bays said.

However, Bays said he's strongly considering the idea of turning the church into a banquet hall and reducing his overall number of apartments for his next redevelopment project.

"I might do the banquet hall. I've got somebody for the banquet hall for sure," Bays said. "I have a tenant that's ready to take it immediately if I do it."

The acquisition of St. Anthony's Church makes sense for Bays since he already owns the property next door, anchored by Chase Bank, known as Bays Executive Centre.

In 2024, St. Anthony's Catholic Church was one of several Joliet area parishes that were closed by Bishop Ron Hicks as part of the Diocese of Joliet's downsizing of its parishes. St. Anthony's had been struggling for many years as older members of the parish were dying off.

Under the reorganization, St. Anthony's and St. Bernard's were closed and merged into St. Mary Magdalene Parish along Briggs Street. Sacred Heart Parish on Joliet's Ottawa Street and St. Anne parish in Crest Hill were also closed and those properties are both for sale as well.

In recent days, contractors have been working inside St. Anthony's removing the stained-glass windows and other furnishings from the church. The church's bell, which weighs an estimated 3 tons, according to Bays, could be removed on Wednesday.