A 3-Bedroom Loft in Hot Wicker Park for $525,000: 1400 N. Milwaukee
This 3-bedroom loft in the Indigo Lofts at 1400 N. Milwaukee in the Wicker Park/Bucktown corridor recently came on the market.
The Indigo Lofts has 21 units and a heated garage. It was converted in 2001.
This loft has 12 foot ceilings and authentic loft features of exposed brick and ductwork.
The listing for this unit says it has $50,000 in upgrades including new soundproof windows and patio door (as the El runs directly next to this building).
The loft has south and east exposures.
It has dark diagonal hardwood floors and a barn door leading to one of the bedrooms.
It appears that 2 of the 3 bedrooms have windows and they all have floor-to-ceiling walls.
There is a master suite with a remodeled master bathroom with a white quartz double sink.
The loft also has a new stone fireplace.
The kitchen has dark wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and a breakfast bar.
This loft has all the features buyers look for including central air, washer/dryer in the unit and heated garage parking is included.
This building is right in the middle of all the shops and restaurants of Wicker Park and Bucktown and is within walking distance of 2 blue line stops.
It has come on the market for $100,000 more than the 2015 sales price, at $525,000.
Three bedrooms have been the hottest type of condo.
Will the 3-bedrooms and the neighborhood make this a quick sale?
Laura Meier at @Properties has the listing. See the pictures here.
Unit #205: 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1400 square feet
- Sold in November 2001 for $303,000
- Sold in March 2004 for $342,000
- Sold in June 2007 for $401,500
- Sold in April 2015 for $425,000
- Currently on the market for $525,000 (includes garage parking)
- Assessments of $501 a month (includes exterior maintenance, lawn care, scavenger, snow removal)
- Taxes of $5466
- Central Air
- Washer/Dryer in the unit
- Bedroom #1: 15×11
- Bedroom #2: 11×9
- Bedroom #3: 10×10
I wouldn’t pay 400K to live here in this so-so location directly on the train. Small bedrooms and steep assessments. Not much room overall and I can’t imagine a balcony overlooking Milwaukee Ave would be very relaxing. But someone will probably think the barn doors are cool and pay 480-500K.
1400 SF LOLZ!!!!!
JAN TERRI is my name. SQUARE FOOTAGE is my GAIN!!!!
GO CUBBIES LOLZ!!!!!!
“the 3-bedrooms”
No closet in bedroom #2; haven’t you told us repeatedly that it has to have a closet to be a “bedroom”?
While I don’t always buy into that, this one is a two plus den/office.
“Over $50k in upgrades” and they didn’t spend more than $100 on the MBR closet??
“No closet in bedroom #2; haven’t you told us repeatedly that it has to have a closet to be a “bedroom”?”
Some older homes have the closet outside the bedroom. I think it has to have a window to be considered a bedroom.
Walking distance to Big Star. Someone will buy it for that.
you can buy a lot of Big Star deliveries living elsewhere though…
“I think it has to have a window to be considered a bedroom.”
I think that realtors do whatever they want, and “could” call a pantry a ‘bedroom’ if it suits their purposes.
In any event, Bedroom #3 has a closet, but no window, and has full height walls, so using your definition, it isn’t a bedroom. Either way, it’s a 2+den.
And, I forgot for a moment, S has said before that a bedroom has to have a closet *and* natural light, so this one is actually a 1 bed + 2 den/offices.
Should be a rental. That stretch of elevated track has to be the loudest in the entire city. Ever been in Wicker Park and heard the decibel level of that stretch? Add to that the noise of the 56 bus going both ways all day and night. Probably there will be some crime, at some point, in that Walgreens lot. Hope no stray bullet goes thru a window. How about Trump sending in the Feds today? Lol, he’s a master-troller of Dems and dumb sh!tlibs. Trump should offer Obama a job as the Trump administration’s point person Chicago community organizing and crime-safety point person.
HH,
Did you know the joint task force that trump is funding was entirely developed by a Hispanic female cop and a black city superintendent ( Nunez and Johnson ) – two s*itlibs as you call them.
F**king idiot nazi.
“In the real estate world, a space can be considered a bedroom if it has a door that can be closed, a window, and a closet. The closet requirement is not covered in the building code and is instead a bedroom feature more related to comfort and livability than safety.”
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/406-what-makes-a-room-a-bedroom/
Are there actual codes that apply (actually apply) to Chicago that define a bedroom?
In Chicago I don’t believe you need a window, but you need natural light…that’s why developers have gotten away with calling those god awful soft loft type spaces with a 3/4 height wall open to the living room or kitchen a “bedroom”. To me, If there isn’t a window, it’s not a bedroom.
The building code covers egress for bedrooms. There has to be two means of egress. The bedroom door is the first method of egress. The window is the next method of egress. There are requirements for the opening size of the window that is covered in the code.
$500k to live above a 7/11 on a very busy intersection filled with bearded monsters riding bikes?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if this gets anything near ask it’s proof, if ever, that we are in a bubble. The train noise, the 711, the vape shops on this block..all gross.
“I think it has to have a window to be considered a bedroom.”
long story but i will try to keep it short….When our basement flooded and we were applying for a grant (Obama had declared our area a natural disaster area) the guy from FEMA came over and even though we have a 3 bedroom house (4 if you count the attic) he said he only could count rooms that had beds in them as bedrooms.
So if I had put beds and air mattresses in our basement, attic and living room, I could have doubled our “bedrooms” and gotten more relief money
So:
Bob Vila sez 1 bed.
Chicago Building Code would say 2 beds.
Listing sez 3 beds.
There is a 4 bedroom at Division/Damen for $2M, so, this could be considered a steal, I suppose. About a year ago, a dead guy was found in a car at that Walgreens. Because there is the new Walgreens down the street, I bet this building is razed soon.
But, on the bright side, at least we aren’t looking at gobs of distracting belongings.
I think this place will go for ask.
Regarding bedrooms: here’s an interesting loft not too far away from this place. It looks as though they add a curtained wall to close off part of the master bedroom to add a 2nd bedroom. Then they added barn doors to close off the other sides of the 2nd bedroom from the living space.
https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/1728-N-Damen-Ave-60647/unit-305/home/13356589
Marco,
i think that listing is far more appealing than this one. For one, that block is considerably better..Right off the trail and just generally a lot less riff raff in the area.
Not a fan of how the bedrooms are configured though…that’s a hard sell for a second bedroom. Rooftop is great.
I think it will sell at ask.
“The train noise, the 711, the vape shops on this block..all gross.”
Actually, this block is one of the most in demand in the entire city with some of the trendiest restaurants in the city located here. The addition of the new hotel at the end of the block also makes it a tourist destination.
Construction is soon to begin just a block or two south of here on a new condo midrise as well as townhouses (closer to the Division Street blue line stop.)
A developer was also converting one of the big furniture stores on Milwaukee into a beercade type establishment. I don’t know where that stands though. To me, one of those big stores would be the perfect location for a Polish food hall as this used to be the epicenter of Little Poland.
No offense, Riz, but you spend too much time in the Gold Coast and River North to know what’s happening in these hipster type neighborhoods.
“Are there actual codes that apply (actually apply) to Chicago that define a bedroom?”
Yes.
It must have a closet and some form of natural light (either a window or 3/4th wall).
If it doesn’t have the closet, it’s a den but that hasn’t stopped many realtors from calling those rooms bedrooms anyway.
“No offense, Riz, but you spend too much time in the Gold Coast and River North to know what’s happening in these hipster type neighborhoods.”
No offense taken, but I don’t think you know me as well as you’d think – I’m very much an aging hipster. I spent most of my residency years cramming at the wormhole down the street from here. big star USED TO BE one of my favorite bars in the city. My wife and I love hot chocolate on damen.
I get out to bucktown / wicker and logan square as much as I can. I had lunch at parson’s today – Negroni slushy is awesome.
As to your recommendation of a polish food hall – what? No. that wouldn’t work here. The majority of the people in this neighborhood are rich suburban kids pretending to be hipsters and aging hipsters with good jobs who live in the expensive condos and SFH’s with their babies. These people aren’t eating polish food. Vegan hipster crap maybe, no polish food. Can’t do Pizza because piece is down the street and hard to compare with..
As far as new trendy restaurants on this block, are you talking about mahalo? bc the food there sucks.
as far as beercade goes – you mean the one that’s been there for years next to the walgreens? Yeah, don’t think they need a second one on this block.
as far as the hotel goes – you mean the robey? The rooftop is average at best..and yeah, it’s attracting a younger crowd. I believe part of the building is also a hostel also.
Think i know the neighborhood just a TINY bit better than you friend. 🙂
“As far as new trendy restaurants on this block, are you talking about mahalo? bc the food there sucks.”
what about Antique Taco, Bongo Room, Oiistar, Umami Burger, Angry Crab, FireFin Poke, Fonda Frontera, etc…Pretty decent selection for a small section.
if you go to Umami burger, get the uber eats burger (its not on the menu), and thank me later
“As to your recommendation of a polish food hall – what? No. that wouldn’t work here.”
Really? With one of the original Polish delis not that far away? And another one up in, of all places, Lincoln Square which is basically a smaller food type hall with a rooftop restaurant?
Like I said Riz- you need to get out more. You really don’t have ANY idea what is going on in these neighborhoods.
No- there’s been no arcade like place in one of the furniture stores there Riz. Again- go walk down there and check it out. It hasn’t opened and they may have changed their plans but that was the plan not too long ago.
The Robey is NOT a hostel. Lol. I know people who have stayed there. If they are “younger” then that’s exactly what the neighborhood attracts. Sorry you are “old” now. If being 25 and staying at a nice neighborhood hotel that is next to the El so it’s easy to get to is somehow not cool, then I don’t know where to begin. It clearly is bringing in tourists to the neighborhood which is what it wanted to do.
You’re thinking of the Hollander next door which has some private rooms and also some hostel/shared rooms. It’s owned by one of the trendy hotel chains so I don’t think it’s what you are making it out to be (“average” at best.) It’s not meant to be a $400 a night Gold Coast hotel. Lol.
Oh Riz…your elitism cracks me up.
Ugh Sabrina. I hate taking time out of my post call days to school you when you’re being a jerk .
https://www.yelp.com/biz/emporium-arcade-bar-chicago –
that’s a link to emporium. It’s right next to the walgreens, like I said – not in a old furniture store. No other beercades coming.
show me a hipster that is eating at a polish deli and i’ll eat my hat.
Also, I didn’t say the robey is a hostel, but I knew there was next door to it – I was at their rooftop a few weeks ago and met a guy staying in the hostel from amsterdam. Nice guy.
“Like I said Riz- you need to get out more. You really don’t have ANY idea what is going on in these neighborhoods.”
And finally – really? You’re hanging in wicker park and logan more than me sabrina? Don’t make me laugh out loud.
“Oh Riz…your elitism cracks me up.”
We’re both laughing then.
“Antique Taco, Bongo Room, Oiistar, Umami Burger, Angry Crab, FireFin Poke, Fonda Frontera, etc…Pretty decent selection for a small section.”
Agreed – but Bongo room is so so, oiistar is average. Umami burger is a chain but truffle burger is not bad. The rick bayless spot is good.
I still think there are some solid places on this block, it’s just a bit grimier with the smoke shops etc than the strip of damen with hot chocolate, toms shoe spot etc.
Sure, not all the restaurant options here are destination dining, but there are many solid neighborhood spots. Aside from the west loop, this is probably one of the densest dining areas of the city, right? My issue with this place is the train, not the restaurant options.
Marie,
agreed. I’d overlook the ‘griminess’ as I describe it, if the EL noise wasn’t so bad.
that being said – filter, down the street, has some awesome breakfast sandwiches. I still go there to do work once in a while.
“[A bedroom] must have a closet and some form of natural light (either a window or 3/4th wall).”
Then why are you calling this place a three bedroom? The floorplan is in the listing, and shows one (by your definition) bedroom, and two other rooms–one with no natural light and the other with no closet.
So, this place is really a 1 bed + 2 dens.
And, I think you forgot the “requirement” of a door.
PS: For there to be “actual codes that apply (actually apply) to Chicago that define a bedroom” there *must* be something you can link to. So, show us the linky.
“that’s a link to emporium. It’s right next to the walgreens, like I said – not in a old furniture store. No other beercades coming.”
No- that’s not it Riz.
There’s a huge entertainment complex that is going into an old furniture store on the street (furniture store had been there like 50 years selling to new immigrants to the city.)
It could be either they couldn’t get loans or decided it wasn’t viable.
“And finally – really? You’re hanging in wicker park and logan more than me sabrina? Don’t make me laugh out loud.”
Actually, I’m all over the city, in all the neighborhoods, nearly every weekend just to run this site. I’m probably in more neighborhoods in a year than Rahm when I actually go out to cover those parts outside the GZ.
You know, the areas you have NEVER set foot in Riz. It’s a shame. But not unusual. Many people spend 10 years in Chicago living solely in the GreenZone. Have never been out of it but there are plenty of wonderful middle class neighborhoods with great restaurants.
But, like I said, it’s okay to be an elitist. Milwaukee IS grittier than Damen in that neighborhood. Just admit you don’t like the less rich Riz. It’s okay. The used bookstore makes you feel uncomfortable. You don’t want to be around people with beards and tattoos. That’s okay to admit.
The Damen block had a freestanding Marc Jacobs (has since shut down). No hipster is EVER shopping there. It’s two very different markets.
That doesn’t mean the blocks on Milwaukee are any less desirable. Yes- Umami is a chain out of LA, but this was also the first location they chose to open up in Chicago. That was years before they went to the West Loop or anywhere else. It says something about the customers on that street.
It IS a destination. Going forward, it will mostly be chains that go in there because local restaurants/retail won’t be able to afford those super high rents.
Riz: This is what I was referring to but it has never happened.
According to DNA Info, the Punch Social is now going to open up this complex in Fulton Market instead.
http://www.bowlersjournal.com/chicago-scores-massive-new-entertainment-center/
Ever found yourself wondering whether it might be possible to assemble a bowling center, an around-the-clock gastrodiner, two cocktail bars, ping pong, private karaoke rooms, lounges, and party rooms under a single roof? Yep, so have we! And we now appear to have our answer in the form of a massive, new entertainment complex coming to Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, Punch Bowl Social.
The Punch Bowl Social brand comprises a chain of entertainment complexes founded by Mark Thompson of Seasoned Development, a hospitality company based in Denver, Colo., and presently has locations in Austin, Texas, and Denver, as well as a soon-to-open complex in Detroit, Mich.
The Chicago location will feature 27,000 square feet of space spread throughout a four-story building at 1348 Milwaukee Ave. That location had housed a furniture store called Central Furniture since 1966. Central Furniture closed its doors as of August 1 to move the business, which was founded in 1949, to a new location in Chicago’s Humboldt Park area.
“Then why are you calling this place a three bedroom?”
Are you talking to me anon(tfo)?
I don’t determine the bedrooms. The listing does. If they call it a 3-bedroom, then so do I. If they say the den is a den, then so do I.
Just a reminder for home buyers: buyers beware.
” You don’t want to be around people with beards and tattoos. That’s okay to admit.”
I HAVE a beard and tattoos. lol.
yes, as i’ve gotten older I have more of a distaste for vomit, poop, cigarette butts, crackheads, panhandlers , and traveling hippies with their dogs chilling on the street.
I don’t think that makes me an elitist.
I spend a lot of time hanging out in andersonville, ravenswood, logan, lincoln square , etc with friends. These are areas of the city I like. Yeah , maybe i’m not traveling to kenwood, uptown, rogers park, or wherever else as much, but I don’t have a reason to. I’m busy and already have a good handle on what areas I like in the city. That doesn’t make you better than me amiga.
P.S . May i add the tattoos were a mistake from my youth. I honestly was on the fence for getting a full on sleeve at one point but my parents promised to disown me. Like I said, aging hipster.
Riz – hate to point it out, but you’re hanging out in the Wonder White bread trendy places and not really seeing what makes Chicago an interesting city. But if paying outrageous amounts of money for an “experience” in a restaurant or bar in a whitewashed neighborhood is your thing, keep on keeping on.
As an aside, when I say whitewashed, I mean the neighborhood has the same chain stores and destinations that are found out in the suburbs. No soul, no character, no personal touches, just bland.
Riz, everywhere you hang with friends is the Green Zone. Exception is Logan as it’s still seedy in some places. But you should get over to Kenwood, have brunch at the Parrot Cage, go to Argyle Street, heck, get over to 12th Street beach one day, the Mexican restaurant there is delicious. Speaking of Mexican, go to Pilsen, go to the Mexican Art Museum, take the pink line there. There are reasons to visit these neighborhoods, even if you don’t have friends that live there.
Moose you’re full of it. There are fewer chains in those areas Riz cites than almost anywhere else in the city. Yes, they are becoming more of a problem lately but some places like Southport or Bucktown have it even worse. And NOT trendy. Not sure what city you live in.
Anonemoose, GoneFishin,
I’m with you. I know there’s a lot of value in this type of exploration..I used to head out to pilsen and bridgeport when I was a lowly medical student renting a craphole in the south loop way back when ( when both neighborhoods were less gentrified ) – My point isn’t that I don’t see fun or value in other neighborhoods, but now with a wife and a baby, I don’t mind sticking to more vanilla neighborhoods – I have minimal free time and I admittedly like to spend it in ‘nice’ neighborhoods..That doesn’t make me less cultured in my opinion. If I was single and had more free time, i’d be all over the city on the weekends, but alas I don’t have that luxury.
I worked nights this week and have been getting home at 7 am – I have only tomorrow off for 2 weeks in a row. Am i going to take my wife and kid to brunch in lakeview or am i going to venture out to kenwood? It’s just unlikely given my constraints.
Riz, we all have kids, jobs, commitments. Going to lakeview is closer but the Parrot cage is only 20 minutes south, has free parking and has a great beach behind it. I would argue that walking to lakeview, waiting in line at brunch, then walking to the beach from there would take less time then the parrot cage scenario. And you get culture, history and precious uncrowned beach time to boot. But certainly, if wonder bread works for you, then by all means, wonder away. But I value unique experiences and diversity and want my child to value that as well.
It’s all a matter of perspective. Calling a gentrified city neighborhood “Wonder White bread trendy” is not only offensive and racist, it’s just plain wrong. If you want to, using your term, see a “Wonder White bread” neighborhood, try heading out to Yorkville, Huntley, or pretty much any far flung suburban that ring the city for miles and miles and miles. Hell, you don’t even have to go that far, head out to the HIP (Harlem/Iriving) and look at the miles of stores, and find one that isn’t either a franchise or a chain (except for that awesome little italian store i forget the name). Merely having a starbucks or dunkin donuts don’t destroy the character of a neighborhood; and in some cases, it enhances it. and I don’t know what “No soul, no character, no personal touches, just bland” even means. My wife and I laugh when on househunters the buyers use the word “character”! Which means no design at all. Secondly, if by personal touches, you mean graffiti or street art, then yes, I don’t need that either. There’s certainly nothing wrong with venturing outside the GZ but to disparage it makes no sense.
“But certainly, if wonder bread works for you, then by all means, wonder away. But I value unique experiences and diversity and want my child to value that as well.”
Haha come on man. get off your high horse. soon narcissistic.
“There’s certainly nothing wrong with venturing outside the GZ but to disparage it makes no sense.”
thanks HD. Find myself agreeing with you a lot these days. I understand the potential value and even preference to check out grittier or less gentrified neighborhoods..but I just feel like i’m too dang worn out for the graffiti and street poop – even if those neighborhoods have some charming, amazing spots.
Others can disagree with me or call me vanilla, but hey, it’s not like i’m moving to naperville.
“Riz, we all have kids, jobs, commitments. Going to lakeview is closer but the Parrot cage is only 20 minutes south, has free parking and has a great beach behind it. I would argue that walking to lakeview, waiting in line at brunch, then walking to the beach from there would take less time then the parrot cage scenario. And you get culture, history and precious uncrowned beach time to boot. But certainly, if wonder bread works for you, then by all means, wonder away. But I value unique experiences and diversity and want my child to value that as well.”
Wow. I actually agree with this. I’ve been skipping brunches with friends because they keep picking places that don’t take reservations and where the lines are ridiculous.
If uniqueness and diversity means I’m on a high horse, I’m staying on my high horse. Enjoy Panera! 🙂
Hmm.. Half of my last message was truncated. I wonder why. I called out the Bongo Room for having long lines and subpar food and Fork for having food that’s downright inedible.
“If uniqueness and diversity means I’m on a high horse, I’m staying on my high horse. Enjoy Panera! :)”
As if it’s grit of Panera, with nothing in between. False dichotomy.
Wife and I joke that Oak Park is where aging hipsters go to live in the suburbs. I swear half my neighbors have tattoo sleeves (women included).
“Wife and I joke that Oak Park is where aging hipsters go to live in the suburbs. I swear half my neighbors have tattoo sleeves (women included).”
Nearly one-third of everyone I meet in my neighborhood had lived in Old Town during the previous 15 years. The other 1/3 are from out of state. The final 1/3 are townies or lifers. Very few tattoos surprisingly, but everyone seems to have three or more kids.
“But certainly, if wonder bread works for you, then by all means, wonder away. But I value unique experiences and diversity and want my child to value that as well.”
Is this coming from the person who I believe lives in PR??
^sorry, wrong person
What is the current agreed upon definition of the green zone?
“Punch Social is now going to open up this complex in Fulton Market instead”
I believe that was because the Brooklyn Bowl deal didn’t go through for whatever reason
Totally agree Jenny, I like brunch places with parking and no frickin line.. like seriously? There are thousands of places to eat overpriced eggs and bacon with flavored mayo and crumbled chorizo in town, like why go to the one with a damn line, because they put the most garbage on your bloody mary skewer? dumb
Sonies, I find that there is absolutely zero correlation between length of line/wait and quality of brunch. Once the sheep get it in their mind that some place is the best brunch spot, they will go wait 45 minutes or more even if the food objectively sucks or is mediocre.
Every time I’ve gone to the really popular places and waited I’ve been sorely disappointed.
When I was in Atlanta, there was this brunch spot that always had like 50 people waiting outside for at table. IMHO, the food was meh. However, literally across the street from the popular spot, this little cafe had the best frigging brunch ever and you rarely had to wait for a table. I could never figure it out.
Brunch is the biggest scam in the restaurant industry. No restaurant is staffing the kitchen or the front of the house with their “A” team during brunch (I have 12 years of relevant experience to back up THAT claim). They mint money on the low skill egg dishes with the 1000% mark-up.
I actually hate brunch with a passion. Weekends are frequently the only time my sweety and I can go out for LUNCH and it is really hard to find restaurants that serve LUNCH on the weekend!!!!
My go-to brunch spot has become Chicago Cut. Good food, no wait, no riff raff, free beignets. God, I had the clamoring that goes on at the Blood Mary buffets.
I once got stuck with friends who were desperate to go to the Bongo Room and insisted on waiting in line. The all raved about the food and drinks and all I could think was, “I waited over an hour for this?” It’s a damn chain restaurant at that.
I went to a place in Skokie recently called Libertad for brunch… totally awesome, and there was no wait… the other two “brunch places” nearby were jammed with people waiting outside for some regular ass breakfast food which I am sure was mediocre. LOL
glad to see other people besides me are starting to hate brunch and its not just me getting older and more jaded
HD – yer funny. I grew up not too far from where you did and my family isn’t too far away from where you live now. Howabout that Rte 12 these days? I use the phrase Wonder White bread because a lot of the city has become as bland as a slice of said bread.
Sid – tell you hwat. I’ve lived in Chicago for the better part of 25 years, have been hanging out here for about 30. I used to go to Medusa’s and remember how much fun Belmont and Clark used to be. J. Toguri, Pink Frog, Punkin’ Donuts, the Alley when you used to enter off the alley and could buy Chicago PD jackets, vintage clothing, and other fun shit. Can’t forget Ann Sathers before Tunney bought it. Never went to Berlin because I was underage. Oh yeah, the Belmont Army/Navy Surplus store was always an interesting rummage. Then there were the funky stores going north along Clark towards Wrigley.
What’s left of all of that now at that intersection? Not a whole lot. Yes, things change, but the retail changes in many of the GZ neighborhoods is largely driven by big money looking to sheer sheep of their green coats. Heck, the Michaels at Broadway and Clark is the highest-grossing store in the entire chain. What’s there is not an urban experience. It’s a retail chain experience in an urban environment.
So. You look at that intersection now and tell me that it hasn’t been washed clean of its character.
Anonemoose – really agree with you on the cultural component. Maybe I’m simply getting older, but the 90s were a remarkable period in (sub)culture and Chicago was driving a lot of it.
It is interesting how neighborhood gentrification tends to whitewash all the things that made the neighborhood cool in the first place.
Wife and I were commenting that Lincoln Park seems positively dead these days or decidedly uncool compared to Btown, River North, etc. The area on Armitage used to be bustling and it seems almost as dead as a suburban mall Sears nowadays.
There’s no real need to go to a store these days. I used to love shopping at Ragstock and the Alley when I was in high school. Why go to a store though when everything is online now?
I remember an art gallery in the area too that would serve wine to underage kids. My favorite cafe is now a Sushi restaurant. These days are kids even allowed to leave their houses without constant adult supervision?
Moose-I agree with you on Clark and Belmont. At least L&L is still there last I checked. But that is not Andersonville, Lincoln Sq or Ravenswood. Too broad of brush.
Jenny, I agree Fork has gone to hell and Knife is just as bad.
“The area on Armitage used to be bustling and it seems almost as dead as a suburban mall Sears nowadays.”
Crain’s has covered what has happened to Armitage extensively over the years.
It was the premier shopping district in Lincoln Park. But then the landlords saw an opportunity and started raising rents. Then the Great Recession hit. But landlords didn’t lower rents. Stores couldn’t make it.
Meanwhile, the big chains started going into Southport and on Damen in Bucktown. Those blocks became more vibrant so there was no use going back to Armitage.
A few years ago, Armitage landlords tried to lure more food shops and restaurants to try and change the street from retail (because it was losing) to food. Apparently, based on your comments, they haven’t succeeded there either.
Maybe they need to put a food hall in. That seems to do it.
It’s also not surprising that the most innovating retailers and restaurants are all in neighborhoods with much lower rents like Logan Square, Pilsen and Avondale. Only the national chains can pay what the other landlords are demanding and that’s where you get the blandness.
“What is the current agreed upon definition of the green zone?”
The same as it’s always been but there are a few toss up neighborhoods now. Is Andersonville the GZ? I would say “yes” even though the rest of Edgewater is not.
It’s the following:
Loop
South Loop
River North
Streeterville
Gold Coast
Lincoln Park/Old Town
Lakeview
North Center
Andersonville?
West Loop
West Town (including Ukrainian Village, Wicker Park)
Bucktown
Logan Square has never been part of the GZ but is it now getting there???
“If you want to, using your term, see a “Wonder White bread” neighborhood, try heading out to Yorkville, Huntley, or pretty much any far flung suburban that ring the city for miles and miles and miles.”
I would actually argue that some of the far out suburbs are actually MORE diverse than the GZ and inner suburbs. (but not all of them- it depends)
This is where the immigrants are moving to. There is a HUGE Polish, Mexican and Russian population out in the far western suburbs. You hear foreign languages everywhere. This is where the Polish delis are now and the Indian grocery stores. There are actually more mom and pop Mexican taco eateries out there than in Pilsen now.
The rents are cheaper in that strip mall so they can open up restaurants far more easily. If you want the cutting edge on food, you need to head out far west to some of these areas.
yeah… no
I don’t think you’ve been to yorkville
Uh. I just had an interview in Oak Brook. A little part of me died inside to see what a hell hole that place is. I wonder how these companies are going to maintain a high quality work force when potential employees reject their offers because they are just so damn far from civilization. As much as I disdain North Center and Wicker Park, I’d rather live there than Oak Brook. Hell, my friends just moved to East Garfield Park and I’d choose to risk my life over living in Oak Park.