Andrew / August 9, 2005 3:41 PM

Thanks, Matthew, for the question.

Roni / August 9, 2005 3:49 PM

If I knew, I'd buy there.

jen / August 9, 2005 3:52 PM

humboldt park.

amyc / August 9, 2005 3:53 PM

Lake Michigan. Underwater condos for everyone!

Allie / August 9, 2005 3:53 PM

ravenswood- especially with the movie theater and target going up on montrose.

Sabrina / August 9, 2005 3:57 PM

Ukranian Village

Mike / August 9, 2005 4:24 PM

Albany Park.

Allie, where can I find more information about the theater and store you're talking about?

Chris / August 9, 2005 4:33 PM

Avondale

sky / August 9, 2005 4:34 PM

South Loop

Naz / August 9, 2005 4:44 PM

Amyc - it's actually mildly possible. Given a shell underwater that's equalized with enough air pressure (though you'll probably have to get used to frequent decompression or else, the bends!) to keep the water out (like how when you put a hollow vessel upside down, air is retained), you can pretty much live underwater.

Or get decompression chambers installed.

Andrew / August 9, 2005 4:46 PM

Hey, all of Streeterville used to be underwater. You never know.

ivy / August 9, 2005 4:50 PM

Mike: Here's info on the Target and movie theater complex on Broadway & Montrose.

Carl / August 9, 2005 4:53 PM

Actually all of chicago used to be underwater

another mike / August 9, 2005 4:58 PM

Haven't all of these neighborhoods already arrived? I know that term is relative, but the Trib did a story on "up and coming" Albany Park in 1996. 800-square-foot Condos run around $200,000 there now. And Ukranian Village has been Hipster Central since before I moved here in 1998. There have been more articles about Ukranian Village recently losing historic buildings to new monster condo construction than any other neighborhood I can name.

buenaparkneighbors.org has info on the low-income housing high-rise/Target/gang-banger-patronized movie theatre proposed for Montrose and Broadway in Uptown/Shillerville.

Directly west of it, in Ravenswood, there are already many 'stunning' condos and there are developments going in where Rainbow Roller Rink used to be and at Clark and Leland.

I don't mean to be a nitpick, but while these places still have a ways to go before they resemble Lincoln Square or the Southport Bar/Boutique Corridor, I wouldn't call them "up and coming" in the least.

I'd like to see Broadway between Bryn Mawr and Granville improve, with some more nightlife/foot traffic and fewer garages and curb cuts. Although Broadway's a busy 2-lane street, the sidewalks are wide and the neighborhood, housing-wise, has already gentrified while remaining diverse.

ivy / August 9, 2005 4:58 PM

I second Albany Park.

Carl / August 9, 2005 5:01 PM

South Shore

Andrew / August 9, 2005 5:12 PM

Another mike, it's all relative. When my parents got married in the early '70s, Wicker Park was already being referred to as "up and coming." It took 30 years for the neighborhood to finally fulfill that promise. So nine years for Albany Park isn't that bad. You'd be hard-pressed to find condos that *weren't* running around $200K these days.

Judging by the condo conversions going on around me in West Ridge, I guess it's hot. Glad we moved in *last* year.

Anthony / August 9, 2005 5:29 PM

South Loop. Already a Target and quite soon, a Whole Foods. Tons of investment. Close to the lake, parks, and transportation. Maxwell St. Market, Chinatown...

Craig / August 9, 2005 5:31 PM

Garfield Park around the Conservatory. Why? Close access to all of the nightlife and restaurants of West Town, so you'll get the hipster trickle down. A couple Green Line stops from downtown so you'll get the young urban professionals. Solid (and beautiful) vintage housing stock to attract the rehabbers. And a beautiful conservatory and awesome parks to attract the families, eventually. Plus first time home buyers subsidies from the city...

Leroy / August 9, 2005 5:38 PM

I hear Mt Greenwood is getting a Starbucks and a Borders, so I say that one.

DCE / August 9, 2005 5:52 PM

I second Garfield Park. It's still somewhat affordable and sketchy - exactly what the hipsters and their penchant for exposed brick and wooden beams are looking for. If I had even a little money I'd buy something out there.

By the time I'm able to do that, however, it'll be rife with condos and a couple two three Starbucks.

annie / August 9, 2005 6:17 PM

why does up and coming mean chain stores and
starbucks?

Gordon / August 9, 2005 6:53 PM

Ukrainian Village -- but, like, I mean, farther south that has already happened.

Grand is RIPE for development, man. RIPE.

paul / August 9, 2005 8:18 PM

Lake Calumet.

Also it would be cool to get a condo out on one of the cribs. You'd have a traffic free commute to the city by boat or in the underground tunnels. And the city views would be awesome.

Craig / August 9, 2005 8:26 PM

You mean like the brand new "lofts" at Damen and Grand?

Leelah / August 9, 2005 8:50 PM

West Englewood.

Anthony / August 9, 2005 10:05 PM

Annie hinted at something interesting: what is it that makes an "up and coming" neighborhood?

I suspect that all of us live in Chicago for the same reasons. We value city convenience, pedestrianism and mass transit. We seek new little gems, share them with our friends. We require a certain amount of art and culture.

What do the best neighborhoods have?
1) Close to mass transit, high accessibility.
2) Lots of commerce from both “mom and pop,” trendy or quirky sole proprietors, and big box retailers.
3) Parks.
4) Population density and diversity.
5) Architectural character.
6) Illusion of safety.

Many areas have become way over-developed (ie. North and Clybourn). Despite they’re relative cheesiness, these stores or chains represent significant investment. To all the cynics: they symbolize a healthy local economy and employ people. I wouldn’t want to make an investment in an area without this sort of investment, nor would I want to live Schaumburg. I think you need a nice mix of everything (ie. Lincoln Square).

Mister C / August 9, 2005 11:07 PM

Sorry to bring things down but:
The folks moving into condos on the "deep west side" ("Gee, look at all this open space and these inexpensive buildings.") remind me of the people who start farming on the slopes of volcanos during the interlude between eruptions ("Gee, look at all this really fertile land. Why aren't there any farms here?").

Why do you think there's all that vacant land along those stretches of the Green Line? Because nobody ever thought to build any buildings on it? It's because a significant chunk of the West side went up in flames after Dr. King was shot, and much of it never got rebuilt. If the history of Chicago has shown us anything, it's that you can only push the "underclass" so far before they push back, and that every so often, the West Side (and certain other "sketchy" areas) explodes. Your IPods may be turned up too loud for you to hear the rumbling, and your book or your PDA might be distracting you from noticing the plumes of smoke, but believe me, the mountain's going to blow at some point. And the presence of your bourgoise a** ain't gonna keep it from happening.

It's one thing to make little yuppie (or whatever word you want to use) incursions on the edges of West Town or the South Loop or any of the various areas that pass for bad neighborhoods on the north side (Uptown, Albany Park, Rogers Park etc.), but you're playing with fire when you start messing with the deep west side (or the many other areas where decades of pervasive poverty and misery have made buildings really "affordable").

There are a lot of people who've moved to the city since the condo-ization boom of the late 90's who are under the impression that the city is just their big white playground and that their Mutual Funds and their SUV's (or their IPods and their trust funds) provide them with some magical force field, who are eventually going to be in for the rudest of awakenings.

Do what you want, it's a free country (and a free market economy), but the newer arrivals who see Chicago as one big theme park might want to rent "Westworld."

Now that I've got that over with, I think the new hot neighborhood will be right around 35th and Cottage Grove. There's just all this undeveloped space!

Emerson Dameron / August 9, 2005 11:12 PM

Apparently, Garfield Park is already bought up. And the WP hipsters formerly stationed in Buddy Gallery are talking about moving their act to, of all places, Bridgeport. And America's housing bubble should pop any second now, shuffling this whole game around considerably. (Hey, it said so in the "Countdown to a Meltdown" issue of the Atlantic, in sobering, convincing terms.)

m / August 9, 2005 11:45 PM

That said, I think that we all prefer to live in our favorite piece of Chicago than, say, Milwaukee. Or Highland park. Nothing against either of those towns, but we are here because we love it. To the revolution!

Ray / August 10, 2005 12:40 AM

Des Plaines...please?

mike / August 10, 2005 1:08 AM

Wherever white people want it to be.

My suggestion for hipsters. If you move into a largely or somewhat black and/or Hispanic neighborhood, then please, please fall in love with somebody who lives there and have a lot of mixed babies.

Sarah / August 10, 2005 8:24 AM

The area just south of Albany park, along Kedzie between Addison and Irving Park. It's just north of Target, Home Depot, etc. on Addison, and more centrally located than Albany Park (although maybe this area is technically part of Albany Park?)

Pete / August 10, 2005 8:32 AM

The western edge of Joliet's Cathedral Area. I hope.

Brian / August 10, 2005 9:08 AM

Mt Greenwood!! Good one, I could just imagine the hipsters and trixies walking down 111th st getting laughed at with their nose piercings and back tattoos as they look around for a trendy place! I hope I never live to see the day.

NotSoHealthy / August 10, 2005 9:19 AM

Laugh now, but Blue Island is on the move baby!

Nicole / August 10, 2005 9:23 AM

God, I'm so sick of trixies and hipster talk. Aren't there any other stereotypical groups we can make fun of for once? Or maybe just give it up altogether?

Piedmont / August 10, 2005 9:33 AM

Pilsen -- the artists are already there!

Leah / August 10, 2005 9:58 AM

Please, please let it be Edgewater. We've got Metropolis, Moody's, Indie, a really nice Dominicks and a nearly private beach at Thorndale (lack of parking keeps it quiet.)

mark / August 10, 2005 10:36 AM

there is a stretch of alley between diversey and wolfram to the north and mildred to halsted on the east(800 blk.)
this alley is the hottest hood hang out with its great dumpsters, easy access to the L, close proximity to the lake and durkins, side alleys and cubby coves for puking or a quick dump, daredevil squirrels, speeding cars from cassidy tire, and rats rats rats
heaven on earth....pilsen, logan square HA!!

Charlie / August 10, 2005 10:39 AM

Edgewater

Erica / August 10, 2005 10:58 AM

Chris, I hope you're right about Avondale. I just bought a place there.

Cinnamon / August 10, 2005 11:00 AM

Personally, as a home owner, I much prefer a neighbor which increases in value slightly every year than a neighborhood which booms quickly. Why? Because that boom is going to bust. Lincoln Park home prices have actually dropped a percentage or two in the past two years. Not quite a bust, not yet.

Our previous condo appreciated in value about 11% over three years. We didn't get rich, but that was enough increase to help us buy our bigger home which has more than enough space for us and all of our projects and our cats. Our current neighborhood seems to be appreciating 2-3% per year, and that's exactly what I like about it. Slow but steady progress is best for the neighborhood, the owners, the area businesses. At least in my opinion.

another mike / August 10, 2005 11:40 AM

I think Edgewater can only improve ... I just moved near Glenwood and Thorndale, four blocks from the lake. The housing is already really nice and not cheap in the area bounded by Broadway, Clark, Ridge and Devon. Like I said earlier, if Broadway got a few more restaurants and nightlife, it'd be great. Right now there are alot of garages and businesses that close early and some empty storefronts. Both Broadway and Devon lend themselves to 'strips' that could attract more activity and foot traffic at night. The Cheetah went in. There are already a few nice restaurants and bars like Alice and Friends, Sizzle, etc. Places like M. Henry, en Thais, and Fernando's are popping up along Clark north of Bryn Mawr. The areas around the Granville and Bryn Mawr els have improved significantly over the past few years ... I hope for the same by the Thorndale el. Remember what the area around the Montrose Brown Line el stop was like in 2000? Now look at it.

miss / August 10, 2005 11:53 AM

it seems like all the wickerparkians are moving to humboldt. go back, what are you trying to do? increase my rent?

also, i think k-town is the next big thing

Anthony / August 10, 2005 12:13 PM

01. MISTER C: did go this berserk about the Millenium Bug, too? Did you buy a generator and horde things?

02. This bubble talk is nonsense. The Chicago market doesn't have coastal appreciation.

03. NICOLE: right on. The trixies, chads, and hipster talk makes me want to BARF. So tired of it. Every forum ends up as an analysis of one group or the other. I also find ironic that most of the readers of this forum probably fall into the 'hipster' mold, and preach about tolerance and diversity. Geez, what are you people so angry about?

Perhaps if you were less focused on issues of authenticity, you, too, could be authentic.

Brian / August 10, 2005 12:19 PM

These hipsters and trixies are stealing chicago's soul and trying to make it more like home in st.louis or des moines or wherever the doofus crowd is traveling from these days.

Anthony / August 10, 2005 12:22 PM

And how are they stealing Chicago's soul?

Brian / August 10, 2005 12:30 PM

Chicago was a city of no nonsense hard lined blue collar well intentioned family orientated people. that is no longer the case in the "hot and upcoming neighborhoods".

Anthony / August 10, 2005 12:34 PM

So where are you from? What do you do or what do you want to do?

Faye / August 10, 2005 12:37 PM

East Garfield Park is on Fire!

This neighborhood is on the Mayor's list. New El station at the Garfield Park Conservatory, Great Marketplace open on weekends.. The theme for Garfield Park is "environmentally friendly" and GREEN!They plan to have lots of farmer's market, landscape and garden centric shops along Lake Street. Lots of architectural interest in the housing. Nothing like the bland West Loop...

Brian / August 10, 2005 12:38 PM

I work my ass off everyday with the exception of a brief stop at gapersblock.com to see what the hipsters and trixies are up to these days, then I high tail it out of the city and back home to Mt Greenwood (born and raised) which is pretty much hipster and trixie-proof.

monkey / August 10, 2005 12:38 PM

Lived in Garfield Park over 5 years. No "explosions" yet Mr.C, only taxes that have more than doubled in that timespan. In any case, whatever "hot" new neighborhood you move to,try to become part of the community. It's the city, if you want to live in a bubble move to Oswego. I go to CAPS meetings, block parties, talk to all my neighbors. I feel like I'm a part of the neighborhood. Give and get respect. My hope is that someday this town won't be so segregated by class and race.

Michelle / August 10, 2005 12:42 PM

"A city of no nonsense hard lined blue collar well intentioned family orientated people."

Hmmm...Sounds like the most boring city on the planet to me.

And don't worry: a lot of these hard lined no nonsense types own all the brick three-flats and are making a pretty penny when they are gutted and made into CONDOS.

Anthony / August 10, 2005 12:43 PM

Well, you obviously work at a computer. Not very blue collar, huh? Do you also hate queers? Maybe black people or spics, too?

Chicago is not that blue collar. Want to see Blue Collar? Go to Cleveland (my home town), Pittsburgh, or Detroit; and then talk to me about blue collar.

Brian / August 10, 2005 12:46 PM

I know thats what I said, the hipsters and trixies are stealing chicago's (blue collar) soul.

another mike / August 10, 2005 12:49 PM

"Chicago was a city of no nonsense hard lined blue collar well intentioned family orientated people. that is no longer the case in the 'hot and upcoming neighborhoods'."

I actually think most of Chicago is still this way Brian, just not so much along the lakefront. But compared to other cities I have lived in, even these gentrified neighborhoods still manage to hang on to the old character more than in other cities, I think this is because Chicago has a very large number of home grown residents for its size.

And judging by what some of my friends have told me about growing up here, I cannot say that some of these changes have necessarily been bad. The stories of my friends running from the club to their car in Wicker Park to avoid getting mugged, or running down Waveland through Latin King territory circa 1980 are funny, even nostalgic, now because my friends survived it. Reminiscing about "skid row" and bemoaning the obnoxiousness of River North is easy if you never got hit over the head with a brick.

Things do have a way of changing too quickly and too drastically here though, in my opinion. I think that factors like ceilingless, complicated property taxes and lack of any significant protections for renters, etc. have more of an impact on how neighborhoods change than 'evil gentrifiers' with a master plan to destroy the character of the city.

It's funny ... my family on the south side says, "gentrification? Awww ... cry me a river about your gentrification."

Sigers / August 10, 2005 12:52 PM

Lord did this thread get dark.

So I'm chiming in with a big old cheery East Garfield Park! Fifteen minutes from the loop, super swift green line, the Conservatory, the park and loooong lots. The presidential streets turn into wide boulevards leading to the park, and the houses are amazing.

Also, there's a very active church that builds new, inexpensive houses that look similar to the brick specials in Logan, and sells them to sweet families that keep their lawns trimmed and watered better than I do.

Helping "the underclass" take part in the change of the neighborhood is an important part of avoiding the explosions mentioned above. That eases a LOT of the pressure of an influx of not-brown people into a brown neighborhood, as homeowners are usually happy to see other owners move in.

Leelah / August 10, 2005 1:01 PM

Funny. I live on the south side--Morgan Park, actually. A few months ago, I was in one of the ten million Irish pubs (the Ramones film was cancelled). Lo and behold, there were people with black clothes, piercings and tattoos hanging out in the bar. And they lived in Mount Greenwood. Or Beverly. I didn't ask.

Brian / August 10, 2005 1:04 PM

Sounds like they were Probaly from barnabas.

another mike / August 10, 2005 1:13 PM

Brian, I hear they're going to start serving skinny mocha lattes and gruyere charburgers on brioche at Wojo's. It's all part of the master plan.

Chris / August 10, 2005 1:16 PM

Humboldt Park is on its way.
Bridgeport's getting there slowly.
Canaryville... possibly?

Kevin / August 10, 2005 1:33 PM

Budlong Woods is where it's at! We have a Dominicks, new library and more diversity than you can shake a hipsterchadtrixie at.

Anthony, walk in the light.

Mister C / August 10, 2005 2:42 PM

I did my post in a sort of "Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come" kind of spirit. I'm not saying people shouldn't move into neighborhoods with different demographics, or that Chicago should remain segregated. But when neighborhoods become hot and the land rush starts and all the original residents are pushed out, does that create integration? When the entire city becomes one big trendy boutique mall interspersed with condo developments, will this be some kind of social utopia? I know these issues have been talked to death back and forth over the years, but they're not going to go away just because they make people uncomfortable.

As I said, go ahead and buy wherever you want.

Monkey and Sigers hit the nail on the head with their posts about becoming a part of the neighborhood you move into by participating in CAPS meetings*, block parties, knowing your neighbors and just generally living there instead of just being walled off. I just don't see a lot of the "condo people" following their great example, and when that happens, resentments build and things can happen. That's all I'm saying.

I know I was really gloomy doomy, but it pisses me off when people talk about neighborhood speculation like it's some fun little game that doesn't have grave consequences that effect the lives of real people.

*I was heavily involved in getting the CAPS program off the ground in 1994 when Rogers Park was one of the four "pilot" districts. I feel that the success of the program is the primary factor in making the city as safe and livable as it's become in the last ten years. And when I was going to all those meetings and organizing folks against the drug gangs that had taken over our neighborhood and sleeping with a fire extiguisher in the bed with me like a f*ckin teddy bear because the local Vice Lord "district manager" had threatened to firebomb us; it was in the hopes that someday the city would be nice enough so that smug, self absorbed turds like Anthony could move here from Cleveland and make the city their little playground.

jen / August 10, 2005 3:03 PM

hey hey hey... no need with the Cleveland shit there, "Mister" C... that city is far worse off than Chicago and why people like Anthony and I move here.

Anthony *does* have a point, however, in saying this city is not as blue collar as it once was. upon moving here i made the mistake of just settling up in lakeview, on southport no less. hated it. post-college frat boys from wrigleyville down to lincoln park and then the yuppies with their new families and condos and dogs who shit everywhere in lakeview? no thank you. this is not the type of thing i moved to a city for - like a suburb full of assholes only concerned about themselves and their BMW/SUV.

now i'm in logan square and not only do i feel much more comfortable in the neighborhood, but i also have a lot more respect for the people that live there. the day we moved in i think three people said hi to us. i never got that in lakeview, much less anyone moving their mid-sidewalk conversation to the side so you could avoid walking in the dog shit-filled treelawn area. i did not move to logan square to make it my "little playground" nor aid in the gentrification (i barely make enough to pay my rent and compact car) - i wanted to be a part of a neighborhood that gave a shit about its neighbors and had character and history and all of that.

~

BUT, to relate back to the original topic, i'm very interested to see what will happen around Cabrini Green where they're building "mixed-income" housing...

Mister C / August 10, 2005 3:20 PM

Sorry to drag Cleveland (the home of Pere Ubu and other favorite cultural figures)into it. Nor am I saying that everyone who moves here from anywhere else (hell, this city was created by folks who moved here from somewhere else) is making the city their personal playground. I wish you the best in Logan Square, and I'm sorry you had to endure Lakeview (not that everyone in Lakeview is a bad person, so don't start with me on that, Lakeview boosters!).

Brian / August 10, 2005 3:59 PM

Another mike, I will hold out until Wonderburger starts selling turkey burgers, if that happens I'll sell my place to some hipster doofus pack up and move out to Marionette Park and make a fortune. Oh yes, and to answer the ? next up and coming neighborhood is 103rd and Pulaski, I hear there's a really hip joint that sells mocha lattes and gruyere charburgers on brioche.

Ron / August 10, 2005 4:13 PM

McKinley Park.
Brighton Park.

Pedro / August 10, 2005 4:27 PM

Such a good fuel topic to be ruined by some lame asses.

Jeigh / August 10, 2005 4:39 PM

Sheboygan Springs...
Definately Sheboygan Springs!

John / August 10, 2005 4:47 PM

Chicago was never *really* blue collar.

Wasn't Chicago started by land speculators that made fortunes buying and selling land, sometimes within hours, at profits well exceeding any current coastal appreciation?

Then the retail giants came and built incredible mansions in Jack. Park.

Then the architects, after the fire, to build monuments of industry...

Just a thought

Ben / August 10, 2005 5:15 PM

Lincolnwood, IL. The Purple Hotel is here. What else do you need???

roderick / August 10, 2005 5:27 PM

Archer Heights? Take the Orange line!

john / August 10, 2005 7:41 PM

Mount Greenwood sucks. It might as well be Midlothian or something, it's so far away from the city. But people there have this chip on their shoulder about being "real" Chicago, while in reality they're for the most part disgruntled white flighters. So you haven't yet moved to Orland -- you want a medal?

PJ Chmiel / August 10, 2005 10:50 PM

This thread makes me want to die...and move away from Chicago. To hell with the condo-buying speculators and their marble-countered "hot properties," they can shove them all up their asses while they try to remember what Chicago used to look like after it's been reduced to nothing but street after faceless street of rectangular cinderblock condos with strip malls, parking lots and big box stores in between, living beside a couple million other lame people who shop at Old Navy and CB2.

I think I'll move to a "hot area" of years gone by: Gary, IN. Awesome airport, South Shore Line, Miss America pageant, sleazy strip clubs, and a marked absence of Starbucks.

Carlotta / August 10, 2005 11:20 PM

Has no one mentioned Portage Park yet? It's still just under the radar, awaiting a huge development wave.

That glorious triangular office building (I forget its name) at Six Corners (Irving Park, Milwaukee & Cicero) is being rehabbed into lofts. Nearly all the businesses in that area have been emptied out, just waiting for that influx of franchised sub shops. And, those neat bungalows & two flats owned by white and Hispanic working class families -- well, that land could be better utilized by multi-unit condos. [HEAVY SARCASM]

Rudiger / August 11, 2005 9:27 AM

"To hell with the condo-buying speculators and their marble-countered 'hot properties,' they can shove them all up their asses while they try to remember what Chicago used to look like"

says the guy from Michigan who's been here since 2002. Please, go back to Upper Penninsula if you hate it so much. I've had an assful of whiners.

Brian / August 11, 2005 9:53 AM

Mount Greenwood sucks...

Fr. Pfleger has spoken!

Uptown Adviser / August 11, 2005 11:46 AM

HEGEWISCH.

PJ Chmiel / August 11, 2005 1:00 PM

Ooh, good sleuth work Rudiger, you got me. While I have only lived here for 3 years, I've been coming to Chicago since I was a child and have seen it change radically, some things good, some things bad. It doesn't take a lifelong resident or a genius to recognize that much of the city is racing towards dull, homogenous suburbanization. Every time I travel around I cringe at the loss of character neighborhoods suffer as the blandness moves in, it doesn't take long to notice changes on this scale.

Baltimore / August 19, 2005 10:58 AM

Any place where poor colored folks live!

Jeff / August 19, 2005 4:20 PM

Garfield Park and North Lawndale. 3 Miles to downtown. 3 CTA lines, expressway (5 minutes to loop), 2 large parks Garfield and Douglas, tons of greystones at reasonable prices, tons of rehabbing and development already going on. If I had the money I'd buy 10 buildings in this area. Proof is in the pudding, neighboring United Center was a hard core ghetto 10 years ago, now homes are going for $500,000. Remember the golden rule, buy low and sell high. This is the few places left in the city where prices have yet to sky rocket.

74 Fullerton / August 26, 2005 2:50 AM

I just wanted to know what people thought of Logan Square. I absolutly love this neighborhood. How long do you think it will take for this neighborhood to be yuppified? Or maybe some of you think it already is.

13rian / August 27, 2005 9:45 PM

all this trivial bickering... lame

My wife and I have been looking for our first home. We started in the areas that we felt were heating up (pilsen, avondale, humboldt, rogers park .. i know some of you claim these areas are hot already so spare me).

but what were beginning to find is that some of these communities don't want us there. We've looked at several homes which we wanted to tour a second time, but our realitor has been unable to schedule a second viewing in several properties in pilsen and humboldt. During our first tours of these properties you could feel the tension... the racial tension.

Alot of these communities are really trying to maintain thier ethnic demographic. These simply do not want the great white wave coing into thier communities..... which is fine by me, i can understand it... though i do not agree with it.

long story short. we've focused our search on Bridgeport. The area may not "blow up"... but our property will increase slowly over time, the crime is less violent, and the ethnic makeup is closer to our own (irish & italian).

Greg / August 30, 2005 1:43 PM

"13rian" statements don't seem to make much sense. Why would sellers in Pilsen express tension towards any potential buyers? As a seller wouldn't their # 1 goal be to sell their property. Sort of strange that homeowners selling their homes would be concerned about the neighborhood they are leaving. It is however possible that you did feel tension from "renters" but that is probably due to the fact they once you buy, you will move in and ask them to leave. Ironically, Bridgeport is a very unwelcoming community, so much that a few years ago an angry white mob beat a 13 year old boy to the point of causing brain damage. Roll out the welcome mat

plzen / September 10, 2005 2:48 PM

Racism in Pilsen can be quite pronounced and public, even the alderman has occassionally been quoted saying ugly things about his constituents based on their race and no one has called him on it. I think most of it stems from the way the Brown Beret movement and the Mexicans took over what was a Slavic area back in the 1960's and 70's when those same tensions were reversed. Many Slavs did the same thing when Mexicans who were forced out by the UofI tried to buy here. That radicalism and Mestizo pride is certainly still extant and assimilation into American society seen as a bad thing by some, the old "acting white" thing. I cannot even count the number of times I have been questioned as to why I live here or have been called "white boy" in an ugly way in totally unprovoked situations where I was only walking or bicycling by and while it is not the prevailing mood, it does stick out. After living in Wicker for 20 odd years I moved here three years ago. I take people (all people) at face value and I am not one to pre-judge anyone, never had a problem when Wicker Park was heavily Puerto Rican and yet after three years here in Pilsen I do feel out of sorts at times. Thankfully, I do have my elderly Slav friends who never left, and spending time chatting with them is so cherished that I forget about the occassional ugliness.

The odd part of the experience that was mentioned above by the previous poster is that in many cases those buildings are then sold to Mexican Americans who turn around and flip them to the highest bidder. With National Register Historic designation on the way, paving the way for tax freezes for those who renovate their facades to National Park Service standards, as well as being the last neighborhood with R4 zoning close to the loop that is not condoed out, and some of the best Italianite architecture in the city it will be hard to stop the momentum of the center city redevelopment and many of the buildings need complete overhauls as they will become untenanable otherwise. I do think Pilsen is already quite expensive, in the last three years it really jumped, but there will certainly be more price appreciation as the condos come in. This past month saw three teardowns and several new foundations being dug, it is starting, it is starting. I also feel it may be time to do the same thing that was done to ethnic white Realtors when they tried to keep out members of other races. We have open housing laws, maybe it is time to start testing Mexican Realtors who are trying to steer whites away. That should put an end to that.

Johnny / December 13, 2005 3:54 PM

The vast majority of neighborhoods mentioned have passed the "up and coming" phase. Bucktown, Logan Square, South Loop, and Uptown are already in full swing of gentrification. Try finding a single family home there for less than $400,000. The only thing you will find are houses smaller than a garage, tear downs, or dumps requiring complete gutting. Don't believe me, search www.dreamtown.com. A true "up and coming" neighborhood is East Garfield Park. You can still find greystones under $300,000, though they are appreciating at a fast rate. This area is on the brink of massive gentrification. I wonder why it hasn't happened yet. Close proximity to downtown and the northside, easy access to mass transit and highways, vintage stock housing, and the conservatory. Sure, this is a rough area, but that will change soon. Drive around and you will literally see a house being remodeled on every block, no exageration. The city is investing heavily into this area, new infrastructure and beautification. The north side is too expensive for anyone not in the upper upper bracket. Naturally, the middle class and upper class have become to seek other areas. Even the city commissioner of planning and development has built property there. East Garfield is the next Wicker Park.

t-dot / April 28, 2006 4:56 PM

I think East Garfield is great but I just don't see it booming that fast. Housing appreciation goes along with where white people feel comfortable to take the el...at night. Key indicators also include white people walking dogs. so Albany Park gets my vote... you can find an assortment of great restaurants and sketchy pawn shops. What do you guys think?

Fred / May 2, 2006 10:45 AM

East Garfield and North Lawndale are definately the next "hot" up and coming neighborhoods. Actually the west side of Chicago in general. The area is still sketchy, but its on the verge of exploding. Both of these neighborhood have alot of rehabbing and construction. There are few, if any other areas in the city that have this much revitalization. Most of the other areas mentioned have already peaked. However, appreciation in East Garfield and North Lawndale outpace virtually any other area in the city. The Chicago Tribune has even written various articles about the revitalization. A new Starbucks is opening on Roosevelt Rd. http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/realestate/chi-profile-69963,1,5929581.story?coll=chi-classifiedrealestate-hed&csuser=%2Fclassified%2Frealestate%2Frealestate

Kevin P. / March 31, 2007 9:15 AM

EAST GARFIELD PARK.... And, I'm not the 'farmer' who purchased on a volcano. Last week, Business Week Named East Garfield park Top 10 NEXT hotest neighborhoods in the UNITED STATES. http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/03/0307_nabes/source/3.htm

margo / April 16, 2007 3:33 PM

The boom is coming to the West Side - the Madison strip to Western is going to be hot.

Gary / May 3, 2007 5:45 PM

McKinley Park. 10 min to loop. Next neighborhood west of Bridgeport and south of Pilsen. Beautiful park. New Target. New library. Quiet. High owner ratio. Unspoiled. Like the old UV.