CHICAGO | General Developments

[denizen467]

In other news about the neighborhoods -- signs of gentrification finally revving up in Edgewater and Rogers Park. They seem oddly overlooked so far; this time there may be extra traction as Red Line reconstruction phases get completed. The block or two around the Loyola station is already a good initial step.

www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-rogers-park-apartment-sale-1213-biz-20161212-story.html

[Kenmore]

by the time the gentrification talk starts in Rogers Park, you know a crash is around the corner

[LouisVanDerWright]

Haha, sad but true. Rogers Park is one of those areas that are perpetually "the next big neighborhood". Though I have been hearing stories of streets like Lunt North of Loyola and West of Sheridan really popping lately. I could see some small parts of Rogers Park really cleaning up, but it's always been such a patchy place, probably because of it's immense density penetrating far inland from the lake. One area could be super nice SFH and three flats and then there's one SRO apartment building full of gangbangers around the corner. It's not that density is bad, it's just that it takes longer for gentrification to fully take hold when you have such volumes of housing stock to turn over. By the time the developers start making real inroads in turning over a place like Rogers Park, the next crash shuts it all down and sends them back to square one.

Compare this to places like the NW side where large tracts of relatively low density (2-3 unit buildings) can rapidly gentrify in just a few years. Harder to do when half the buildings are 30 unit studio apartment blocks.

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Haha, sad but true. Rogers Park is one of those areas that are perpetually "the next big neighborhood".

It's also so far north that I wonder how much ground it can make up when there are neighborhoods waiting for transformation like Little Village, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park all a 15-20 minute train ride from downtown.

[Jibba]

Originally Posted by ithakas

It's also so far north that I wonder how much ground it can make up when there are neighborhoods waiting for transformation like Little Village, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park all a 15-20 minute train ride from downtown.

Don't underestimate the influence of the Red Line and proximity to the lakefront. If you're along the Red Line, you have access to frequent, 24-hour transit service, service that connects you to Uptown, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, North/Clybourn and Old Town, all before you get downtown. The access to the amenities in those intermediate areas alone is a huge draw for those without a car, and the lake has tremendous recreational utility as well as premier cycling infrastructure.

[maru2501]

I know two couples that recently moved to mckinley park. I keep hearing about it

[ithakas]

Originally Posted by maru2501

I know two couples that recently moved to mckinley park. I keep hearing about it

It's diverse, safe, has a central L station, and a cliff of industrial architecture up against a great park. I've been trying to buy there for awhile, hopefully this spring.

It lacks commercial businesses, but it's adjacent to Bridgeport. I could see it becoming the Bucktown to Bridgeport's Wicker Park someday (minus Damen Ave).

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by maru2501

I know two couples that recently moved to mckinley park. I keep hearing about it

In a good or bad way? It's a pretty quiet neighborhood, but La Palapa is a really good place. I think MP is actually better suited public transit (train) wise than Bridgeport because the Orange Line runs more straight through the neighborhood whereas Bridgeport is on the edges.

[LouisVanDerWright]

McKinnley Park is seeing mass Chinese immigration. It's interesting to see a neighborhood being similtaniously gentrified by the assimilated "american" population and also simultaniously becoming a nexus for a new immigration wave. That's not a historically common pattern of development, but seems to be occurring in Bridgeport and McKinnley Park now because of the unique geography of Chinatown (nowhere to expand into except into Bridgeport and then MP) and the fact that the average Chinese immigrant seems to be fairly middle class on average, or at least well off enough that they can relatively quickly afford to start buying the townhomes that are being marketed to them in places like BP and MP.

[maru2501]

Originally Posted by marothisu

In a good or bad way? It's a pretty quiet neighborhood, but La Palapa is a really good place. I think MP is actually better suited public transit (train) wise than Bridgeport because the Orange Line runs more straight through the neighborhood whereas Bridgeport is on the edges.

in a good way. up and coming etc

[Emprise du Lion]

Originally Posted by denizen467

In other news about the neighborhoods -- signs of gentrification finally revving up in Edgewater and Rogers Park. They seem oddly overlooked so far; this time there may be extra traction as Red Line reconstruction phases get completed. The block or two around the Loyola station is already a good initial step.

www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-rogers-park-apartment-sale-1213-biz-20161212-story.html

In my experience, Edgewater already has a better reputation than Uptown. There's also more places to eat, drink, and get groceries. I wouldn't be surprised if Edgewater ends up leapfrogging Uptown.

As for the corner of Rogers Park and Edgewater surrounding Loyola, a lot of businesses have come in just within the last few years since I graduated that are primarily catering to the students. There's certainly far more now than there was when I graduated. A lot of the neighbors hate what Loyola has done over the years, but many of the positive results in the area seem to be due to the university and the desire to cater to many of the students. I recently heard about a Target going in near the Morgan and the retirement center as well.

[Via Chicago]

edgewater is already gentrified. that article sounds 10 years late....

its not as expensive as logan or whatever, but its also not 15 minutes into downtown. also, the crowd that lives there tends to be a little older IMO. not the young partier/art school hipster set. its also not really a nightlife area, so i guess it dosent catch headlines for that (although its obv close to all the Uptown venues).

what i love about it is the diversity though as there is a little bit of everyone living there. i hope thats able to continue.

what really needs to happen is for some good developments to fill in along Broadway, but that will be a difficult trend to reverse given how car oriented that stretch is. same with Sheridan. the neighborhood dosent really have the classic walkable downtown other neighborhoods do which i think is why it just dosent quite stick in people's heads.

[ardecila]

^ Eh sort of. Andersonville is technically part of Edgewater and certainly is gentrified, but the area around Broadway and Sheridan never had a critical mass of businesses to seem vibrant.

I mean, Broadway in Edgewater looks just like any random block of Cicero Ave or Harlem in the bungalow belt. You'd never know there was a 4-track rapid transit line in the corridor with densities of 40000 ppsm and higher.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Eh sort of. Andersonville is technically part of Edgewater and certainly is gentrified, but the area around Broadway and Sheridan never had a critical mass of businesses to seem vibrant.

I mean, Broadway in Edgewater looks just like any random block of Cicero Ave or Harlem in the bungalow belt. You'd never know there was a 4-track rapid transit line in the corridor with densities of 35000 ppsm and higher.

yea i just edited my post to point that out. I dont see anything changing with Sheridan. those retirement highrises arent going anywhere, and its one of the streets that the city dosent really seem to have any interest in traffic calming. there still some lots, but as you said, its already fairly dense. just....not a super enjoyable sort of dense from a pedestrian standpoint. not much mom/pop retail because there isnt anywhere to put it. the wind tunnel effect off the lake dosent help either.

Broadway has more potential but again....similar constraints to Sheridan. not an easy trend to reverse given that the Lakewood Balmoral folks seem to block anything other than stripmalls and that most cars treat it as an expressway up there.

while Broadway isnt great, walk down any of the residential streets and theyre all well maintained and what little SFHs there are list for millions. its already very dense as you point out. when i think gentrification, i think of totally depressed areas that see sudden influxes. that just dosent quite match with Edgewater, which IMO has always been a pretty good place to live, at least in recent memory. i think the term gets thrown around a little too loosely.

[the urban politician]

What's happened to Broadway up there just pisses me off. Horrible. Pure suburban crap, and it will take many years, if ever, to reverse it. Hell, we're just starting to see strip malls disappear way down on North Avenue (Father Son Plaza) and Logan Square, so I guess there is hope. But somehow I get the feeling that development is going to creep along more slowly up there in Edgewater where there are a bunch of cranky old NIMBYs that actually like strip malls.

[Tom In Chicago]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

edgewater is already gentrified. that article sounds 10 years late....

Maybe 20 years late. . . I lived in Edgewater like 15 years ago and almost all of it was already safe and "gentrified" unlike large parts of Uptown and Rogers Park. . .

. . .

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

Maybe 20 years late. . . I lived in Edgewater like 15 years ago and almost all of it was already safe and "gentrified" unlike large parts of Uptown and Rogers Park. . .

. . .

I agree, with Andersonville, Lakewood/Balmoral, Edgewater Glen and Magnolia Glen, there isn't all that much of Edgewater to really gentrify. Maybe Kenmore/Winthrop? I lived in Edgewater for over 10 years until 2011. I moved in and it was slightly "pioneering" and by the time I moved it was hot as hell. Sold my place in like 30 days in one of the worst markets we have lived through.

[Via Chicago]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Maybe Kenmore/Winthrop?

yea, but even thats probably considered more Uptown. and I do think that stretch of Broadway and Wilson will see significant changes over the next 5 years and has the potential to be much more vibrant. pretty curious what kind of retail will wind up in the old Military Surplus and the adjacent building thats under rehab

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by Via Chicago

yea, but even thats probably considered more Uptown. and I do think that stretch of Broadway and Wilson will see significant changes over the next 5 years and has the potential to be much more vibrant. pretty curious what kind of retail will wind up in the old Military Surplus and the adjacent building thats under rehab

True, and it's not bad it's just really urban and diverse. I like it. Edgewater's southern border is Foster, so Winthrop/Kenmore north is hardly bad.

Broadway is not pretty and as referenced earlier a new strip center was built recently. There are a few apartment conversions happening now. Is that what you are referring to as the military surplus?

[Via Chicago]

Yea, that building on the same block as uptown bikes. They've been working on it for a while but it has a lot of street retail that could add a bit of a jolt to that block

(I still love a late night slice from gigios tho)