What's up with the Harrison St. Arts District in Oak Park? (Chicago: low income, real estate)

[Wicket]

It was pretty shady for a long period of time, mostly because of the renters there. It started to noticably change for the better about 10 or so years ago and really was taking off before the recession hit. I think maybe it was because before the housing explosion no one would touch the properties right on Eisenhower and during it those properties got expensive, so you got some money in there that could be spent in the art district that wasn't there before. I don't know, just my theory. I'm glad it's better tho.

[chitownperson]

The Harrison Arts District is kind of deceiving on first glance, as it looks like there are a few things scattered here and there, but once you start looking at everything, there actually quite a lot going on for the stretch from Austin to Ridgeland. I highly recommend Musikgarten, Magical Minds Studio and Intuit Dance for families. Val Halla Records is also awesome, if you're into music.

[sfcambridge]

Didn't you walk up and down the street before you moved in? It's not a chain store strip, it's a quirky artsy strip. And it has some lovely, quiet gems... including Val's music, the Brown Elephant and a little further down... The Open Door theater... the best thing that has happened to Oak Park in a long time.

If you want Starbucks and crowds/bad parking, then hop in your car and you'll be at the mall soon. But do you really want the noise and crowds outside your window when you are sleeping in on a Saturday morning? I sure don't! I am totally happy living in this interesting neighborhood. I just moved there after living in more central areas of Oak Park, and much prefer where I am now.

[chet everett]

The OP lives in the hallowed area too, how about a little neighborly good will?

The outsize enthusiasm expressed by many Oak Park boosters on these boards is completely out of step with the reality. It is completely understandable that a down-to-earth realist would ne more than a litle troubled by closed stores. The disjointed efforts of theoreticians, dreamers and do-gooders might really benefit from folks that can see through the smoke and mirrors that fake business owners throw-up. Perhaps the knowledge and connections of someone like the new Village president could have helped to line up buyers while the hapless landlord was facing foreclosure. Other towns have been able to use court orders or legislation to speed up these kinds things.

The economic reality is that if a well managed national firm were to find the demographics of the area favorable they would be happy to open a location to serve customers. Any sane town should welcome such a business with open arms.

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Didn't you walk up and down the street before you moved in? It's not a chain store strip, it's a quirky artsy strip. And it has some lovely, quiet gems... including Val's music, the Brown Elephant and a little further down... The Open Door theater... the best thing that has happened to Oak Park in a long time.

If you want Starbucks and crowds/bad parking, then hop in your car and you'll be at the mall soon. But do you really want the noise and crowds outside your window when you are sleeping in on a Saturday morning? I sure don't! I am totally happy living in this interesting neighborhood. I just moved there after living in more central areas of Oak Park, and much prefer where I am now.

[campingqueen]

Wow, when did I say I wanted Starbucks or chain stores? What I wanted was an explanation for the many empty store fronts, which I kindly received from some of the other posters. We had a tight deadline in which to choose a home, so no we did not get to explore the area very much. I do feel a little misled by the realtor we were working with who raved about the arts district as having lots of great restaurants - four restaurants isn't exactly "lots."

But I don't regret moving here - there's lots of stuff for the kids to do and that was our first priority. And we have nice neighbors, which is an added bonus.

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

Didn't you walk up and down the street before you moved in? It's not a chain store strip, it's a quirky artsy strip. And it has some lovely, quiet gems... including Val's music, the Brown Elephant and a little further down... The Open Door theater... the best thing that has happened to Oak Park in a long time.

If you want Starbucks and crowds/bad parking, then hop in your car and you'll be at the mall soon. But do you really want the noise and crowds outside your window when you are sleeping in on a Saturday morning? I sure don't! I am totally happy living in this interesting neighborhood. I just moved there after living in more central areas of Oak Park, and much prefer where I am now.

[sfcambridge]

Didn't mean to put you off. Sorry about that. Yes, Chet dislikes me and Oak Park...

Your original post used the words "grim" and "scarey" describing the neighborhood, which seemed surprising to me. It didn't occur to me that you wouldn't have walked down the street before moving there. There hasn't been any change in the number of restaurants in more then a year or two, and there have never been many, so clearly the realtor misled you. It is nothing special for food at all, but nice that there are at least a few places to grab a bite. Definitely the The Mexican place is fine for families, Buzz is good for families, the other small EastGate cafe is nothing special and not a place to go for food, Italian place is good for families and adequate food. I never eat in the neighborhood except to meet people at the Buzz occasionally for coffee.

This is actually as developed as it has ever been. It will be hard parking-wise to expand much more, and/or add busy restaurants, as there are so many people living there. With so many apartment buildings there has to be a lot of permit parking only. If it expanded too much more then residents on side streets will start getting bothered by the traffic/noise.

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by campingqueen

Wow, when did I say I wanted Starbucks or chain stores? What I wanted was an explanation for the many empty store fronts, which I kindly received from some of the other posters. We had a tight deadline in which to choose a home, so no we did not get to explore the area very much. I do feel a little misled by the realtor we were working with who raved about the arts district as having lots of great restaurants - four restaurants isn't exactly "lots."

But I don't regret moving here - there's lots of stuff for the kids to do and that was our first priority. And we have nice neighbors, which is an added bonus.

That area is never going to be a huge retail or commercial area like Oak Park Ave or Lake St. But it's a gem for Oak Park, given what it used to be in the 90s. Now you have a beautiful strip (except for the Kleronomos buildings) where you can walk and view some shops and restaurants. Or have a place you can walk to a grab a coffee or a quick bite - believe me, lots of Oak Park residents wish they had such a place in walking distance.

Your big commercial area is the South Oak Park Ave area, Take advantage of that location, as it should be less than a mile from you, so easily walkable to get real food and drinks. Especially this time of year, Oak Park is at its best.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by sfcambridge

... Chet dislikes me and Oak Park...
.

I very much like Oak Park and have no problem pointing out the trade offs that entail living there. The nicer parts of town are somewhat under appreciated on these boards and the less desirable parts of Oak Park are generally "over polished" by those that cannot admit that every place has some downsides. Oak Park is the kind of place, that despite its warts, does have princely qualities -- the commitment of most residents to working on problems is really commendable. The various parts of town that are more affordable probably do help to attract a broader range of incomes than pretty much any other town and even though I disagree with the boosterism of many who go out of their way to hype Oak Park I do appreciate the effort that goes into making sure the town does not become as generic and economically homogenous as many "hot" neighborhoods on Chicago's northside are rapidly going bland...

When it comes to indivdual posters I generally like to spar with folks and have no problem with those that may post information that otherwise is hard to find. I have a whole other attidtude toward the who smugly promote the trade-offs they've accepted as somehow superior to any other option. For a variety of reasons the supporters of Oak Park seem more prone to such behaviors than residents of any other area in the regions and this sort of thinking seems to have existed long before the interwebs were in common use as many posts of old timers confirm...

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The various parts of town that are more affordable probably do help to attract a broader range of incomes than pretty much any other town...I do appreciate the effort that goes into making sure the town does not become as generic and economically homogenous as many "hot" neighborhoods on Chicago's northside are rapidly going bland...

And yet you consistently condemn the OP school system for having lower standardized test scores than many (so-called) comparable school systems. As you well know, the easiest and most successful way to have uniformly high test scores is to eliminate or minimize students of low socio-economic background.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The OP lives in the hallowed area too, how about a little neighborly good will?

The outsize enthusiasm expressed by many Oak Park boosters on these boards is completely out of step with the reality. It is completely understandable that a down-to-earth realist would ne more than a litle troubled by closed stores. The disjointed efforts of theoreticians, dreamers and do-gooders might really benefit from folks that can see through the smoke and mirrors that fake business owners throw-up. Perhaps the knowledge and connections of someone like the new Village president could have helped to line up buyers while the hapless landlord was facing foreclosure. Other towns have been able to use court orders or legislation to speed up these kinds things.

The economic reality is that if a well managed national firm were to find the demographics of the area favorable they would be happy to open a location to serve customers. Any sane town should welcome such a business with open arms.

To be fair here Chet, national chains have set business models that are not conducive to the low vehicle traffic counts and lack of parking faced by the Harrison Arts District. These days, even Potbelly will demand a drive-thru and a vehicle count befitting Route 83 and Cermak Road near the Oak Brook Mall on the Saturday before Christmas. So a business district like Harrison, which relies pretty much solely on local foot traffic, isn't going to stand a chance in attracting this kind of business, regardless of demographics. This is a difficulty that land-locked communities like Oak Park face.

These areas tend to attract smaller businesses. Many of these "dreamers" have great concepts that really have some potential. Unfortunately, they too often have more heart than business sense. They start off with the cash reserves of an average Kool-Aid stand and a vague to non-existent notion of the concept of marketing. I mean, they know they're cool, they're friends know they're cool, so you should know they're cool too! They then die a quick fiscal death before the business can take off, and you have an empty storefront.

We see this in Berwyn all the time, particularly in the Depot District. I sometimes wish the City wouldn't throw our tax dollars at them through the TIF districts and would put that money into the schools instead. But you just come to accept that some attrition and periodic empty store fronts are going to be necessary to grow a decent district and hope one good one will emerge out of 4-5. On this score, I think Harrison has done very well.