For three generations, parishioners of St. Andrew’s and St. Benedict’s have said that if you were waked at Cooney’s Southport Ave. you were sure to get to heaven. However, these days Rev. John Farry, pastor of St. Andrew’s, says that there are “no guarantees.”
A meeting this week will seal the fate of both the funeral home at Southport Avenue and the parking lot across the street. A buyer has purchased both parcels and intends to sell each separately for an undisclosed price estimated to be about $4 million.
The state of the real estate market in Wrigleyville has soared in the last decade and the congestion has followed suit. “It’s hard enough for people to pay their respects to a loved one. And sometimes they return to their car to find it missing, towed away by the city because of parking bans. Or to have them spend an hour in traffic for a ten-minute ride because there’s a game or a game getting out,” said Gene Cooney, one of a number of Cooneys who have kept the family business going through the years.
Although towing cars is not as bad as it was some years ago, other problems are not getting any better. Property taxes alone are enough to cause a small business to falter. “When I tell people we are looking at places west of here, on Irving Park, or Montrose, they all say it would be easier for them to get to than to fight the game traffic.
“The funeral home and the parking lot are both under contract so I can’t say much,” said Cooney. What I can say is that we will continue to provide for people in our neighborhood who need our services. We may be moving but we are trying not to move too far.”
With a shrug, neighbors speculate that more condos will probably be built on at least one parcel of the property. It is also rumored that the other parcel will be used for a food concern catering to Wrigley Field and other North Side events. Yet another rumor has a Krispy Kreme donut shop moving in.
“The prospective owners may want to build on the parking lot immediately and lease the funeral home to us for awhile but we couldn’t do that. Without the lot, our customers would be really inconvenienced and impossible to conduct business. We might be able to rent both parcels for awhile but all that will be discussed at the meeting”
Fr. Farry schedules weddings, Baptisms, and parish meetings on days without a Cubs game. He pointed out that there are strong neighborhood ties to his parishioners. “People who grew up here are married here, and baptize their children here. They return to St. Andrew’s even if they move away. If Cooney’s moves it just means it won’t be as close or convenient for me. Death seldom is, for anyone, for that matter.”
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