The building at 5050 Church St. in Skokie was constructed as the Mayer Kaplan Jewish Community Center, but newly approved plans could pave the way for the facility to become a hub for the Assyrian community in the North Shore. The Skokie Village Board on Monday night, Feb. 2, granted site plan appro val and a special use permit for Mar Sargis Parish — an Assyrian Catholic church that’s been meeting in the gym at the former JCC since 2019 — to build an addition onto the facility. Moving the church into a dedicated worship space will free up the gym and allow local Assyrians to start turning the building into a community gathering place, said Ashur Shiba, a Morton Grove village trustee and executive director of the grassroots group Vote Assyrian. “Once the chapel is done, we’re going to revert the gym back to a gym. We’re going to start running programs just like the JCC did. It’s going to be open to all walks of life, not just Assyrians,” Shiba said in a telephone interview. “Once the community center is open and running, we want everyone there — anyone and everyone — all walks of life, religious or not.” Shiba said he expects the community center to take shape in phases, with construction of a 1,536-square-foot worship space as the first step, then remodeling of the gym and other portions of the building to follow. Skokie trustees unanimously approved plans for the addition and relocation of the church space — as long as Mar Sargis Parish and Assyrian community leaders adhere to a plan to help prevent complaints of parking congestion. The parking plan requires the church to provide a shuttle bus to an overflow site to manage excess cars. The overflow lot provides 125 spaces at the Assyrian National Council of Illinois, at 9131 Niles Center Road in Skokie. Mayor Ann Tennes said at the Jan. 20 Village Board meeting, when the issue was previously discussed, that she fully supports the Assyrian community’s plans for the site and trusts that attendees will adhere to the parking plan to maintain “the integrity of our residential neighborhoods.” “It’s my understanding that the petitioner has, in good faith, worked hard to rectify the parking issues,” Tennes said. “We are grateful for that and we appreciate that.” Shiba said the problem of too many vehicles for the building’s 178-space lot is driven by the popularity — and rarity — of an Assyrian-focused gathering place. When the Assyrian Church of the East purchased the building in 2019, he said local Assyrians were excited to spend time there together. For the community — largely made up of immigrants who have arrived from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Iran during the 1970s, 1990s and 2000s — it’s still a draw. “This is our first community center in diaspora in the United States for the Assyrian community,” Shiba said. “It’s a big deal, so everybody would come … Even people who live very far away would come to see it and get a feel.” Trustee Alison Pure Slovin said at the Jan. 20 meeting she remembers parking being scarce during the building’s JCC days, too. Her children went to nursery school there, and when parking was tight, she said families sometimes would find spaces at a nearby synagogue. Pure Slovin and others on the Board said they’re excited that the former JCC can continue to be a place that brings people together. “This was originally built as a community center, and … we’re retaining it and keeping its integrity in being a community center — not for the Jewish community, but for our partners, the Assyrian community — people who want to reside and live in Skokie,” Pure Slovin said. “I’m just happy to see that it continues to be a community place. I think this is wonderful.” Tennes issued a statement Feb. 3 saying, “The Village is proud of Mar Sargis Church’s significant investment in Skokie, which will revitalize an existing structure to better serve the church while supporting the continued growth of Skokie’s long-established Assyrian community. “The Assyrian community has been an integral part of Skokie’s diverse cultural fabric for decades, including as a founding participant in the Village’s first-ever Festival of Cultures in 1991. I’m thrilled that beginning in March, the Assyrian flag will be included in the Village’s rotating Flag of Nations display at the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park, honoring the community’s ongoing contributions to our village.” ...read more read less