Six luxury condominiums fill the hallways where Zion Lutheran School students once filed into class at Second and Vine streets in downtown Hinsdale.
The Vine Hinsdale, a conversion of the 95-year-old school building into age-restricted housing for buyers 55 and older, is complete, as The Hinsdalean first reported. Half the units sold before they were formally listed.
One unit sold for $2.7 million. A combined unit fetched $4.7 million. Some residents have already moved in.
Craig Ross, owner of Hinsdale-based Ross Builders, told The Hinsdalean the building's original masonry, steel and concrete made the conversion possible. "It was built like a fallout shelter," he said.
Ross Builders partnered with Clarendon Hills-based Holladay Properties on the project. Zion Lutheran Church agreed to sell the property in 2022, and the concept went through several rounds of village review. The Hinsdale Plan Commission approved the initial concept plan 7-0 in May 2022, according to commission minutes, and approved a detailed plan 8-0 in October 2023.
The project shrank along the way. Developers originally proposed 12 units. The Village Board approved a second major adjustment in May 2025 reducing the count to seven, citing the property's removal from the floodplain and demand for larger units. One buyer then combined two units, bringing the final count to six.
The finished building holds two- to four-bedroom units ranging from 1,594 to 2,836 square feet. Amenities include underground parking and a shared outdoor space with a gas grill and all-season TV. The developers restored the two-story stained glass window above the eastern entrance and preserved scripture-carved masonry on the exterior.
Ross told The Hinsdalean his team invested heavily in restoring and protecting the stained glass, which glows at night when lit from inside. Mike Doyle, vice president of development for Holladay Properties, said the preservation effort was a priority for his team.
The school building was constructed in 1931 to house Zion Lutheran School, which served students in preschool through eighth grade, according to Zion Hinsdale's website. The school operated until 2008. As of the 2022 Plan Commission hearing, only the gymnasium had been in active use in the preceding five years, by a local baseball team.
As part of the development agreement with the village, the eastern section of the property was converted into a pocket park open to the public. The 2022 Plan Commission minutes describe the space as a "pet friendly, formal sitting garden."
Crain's Chicago Business reported in August that most units were priced at $2.4 million and up, calling the project part of a new wave of multimillion-dollar condos in the western suburbs.
Ross said the church wanted to see the building preserved and reused rather than demolished. He predicted it will last another 100 years.
