If a Chicagoan ever considered living in a church, it might evoke images of bell towers, or living in a cathedral like Quasimodo did in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” But an increasingly popular concept that turns cathedrals into residences is much more modern than anything you’d encounter in 15th century Paris.

One such example is the recent conversion by Chicago developer ZSD of St. Boniface Catholic Church, a circa 1900s structure, into housing for the West Town neighborhood. In a three-phase redevelopment, completed in June, the developer built out a total of 42 units at St. Boniface, with eight qualifying as affordable housing.

And as many religious institutions face declining attendance — which makes maintaining properties unsustainable — converting the historical buildings into ho

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