Quote:
Originally Posted by Toasty Joe
My perception is that they have a bunch of college kids, 30s DINKs, some retirees, and a few young families (who are likely eyeing places in the neighborhoods or suburbs), but they're missing out on the mid-20s to mid-30s crowd that fills out the drinking, dining, and entertainment venues in our more exciting neighborhoods. Admittedly I haven't spent a ton of time there -- but that also kinda proves my point
|
I can very much attest to this statement.
The South Loop was my first neighborhood when I moved downtown and lived there for two years before leaving and I gotta say, while I've been told it's 1,000x better then it was even in the 90s. It has a
long ways to go on fulfilling it's potential as an attractive part of the City.
As you mentioned, the proximity to many colleges does give it a lot of the vibes and culture to the area with a lot of college kids. My gf has a few friends that live in the area and they told me that there is a South Loop Facebook page that you can read a lot into what people who live there and what they want the South Loop to be, and there are a
LOT of NIMBYs there I hear of all sorts of ages.
They like how quiet it is compared to the rest of downtown. The Dearborn Park and Prairie District neighborhoods I've heard don't the South Loop to become something like the Fulton Market. It's a lot of resistance compared to other parts of the City.
I very much agree that the scene in the SL needs more to draw crowds as you mention, fill in the drinking, dining, and entertainment attractions like other more exciting neighborhoods -- it's primarily very resy.
I think if or
maybe when The 78 ever happens and fills out. It could be the catalyst to a hopeful Fulton Market trend in the area -- who knows, we'll see I guess.