What's up with the Harrison St. Arts District in Oak Park? (Chicago: appointed, for sale)

[campingqueen]

I just moved to Oak Park and am renting a SFH in the Harrison Street Arts District. I had only heard good things about the area prior to moving, but now that I am there, I'm kind of disappointed. While the homes and neighbors themselves are nice, the businesses lining Harrison St. seem sort of grim - a number of them are closed or are possibly being renovated (I hope).

Does anyone have any insights into this area? Are any new businesses planning to move in? Any new restaurants? The Mexican restaurant looks scary and when we ate at the East Gate Cafe we were the only people there.

Just curious if anyone might have some inside knowledge. Here's hoping for a Harrison St. revival! Thanks!

[chet everett]

Oak Park is home to lots of thoughtful people and many of them do generate some ideas that are creative. Unfortunately ideas are not enough. Effective leadership often is lacking and not enough of that leadership comes from the kind of people that have real experience making the kinds of investments of time / money that are bring results.

Fact is that all kinds of people have proven that the test that comes from putting your own money on the line is often the best preparation for real leadership. In Chicago some of the most effective alderman have a track record of business risk & success. Although I do not often agree with his political positions Dick Mell has a deal making ability that comes not from being a slick lawyer or next-in-line from a political dynasty but largely from lessons of running a very successful industrial spring manufacturer. Similarly Tom Tunnney has a background as a resturantuer and the enormous success he has had in expanding Ann Sather across Chicago is another example of the kind of business savvy leader that can effect change.

Until recently Oak Park's Village leaders looked more like that of a charity -- lots of good intentions but no real world experience with traditional money making retail oriented business. The new Village President is an experienced resturant owner. Anan Abu-Taleb is a first generation immigrant from the Gaza strip. He owns Maya del Sol and a couple of pizza places. Perhaps his real world experience will provide the leadership that has been lacking to help bring more success to Oak Park...

[chitownperson]

The Arts Districts is mostly a collection of eateries, some galleries, frames stores, Yoga and Bhuddist studios, small businesses and a lot of children's classes like Dance, visual art, music etc... It's true that East Gate is very quite, which is one of the reasons I like it, but if you want busy, try Buzz Cafe or Trattoria 225. As for businesses being closed or renovated, the building with a number of store fronts that are empty use to have a deteriorating facade, part of which had some damage to it. The village made them close up shop until they completely renovated it. I believe they did a complete gut rehab, and are expecting to either move the previous businesses back in, or have other businesses in line. Other than that building, the majority of the other stores are occupied. It's certainly quieter than the center of town along Lake street, so if you want more hustle and bustle, being closer to the center maybe a better fit.

Oak Park's main business district is along Lake St. and then it has smaller and quieter areas with business strips, like the Arts District, or Oak Park Ave by 290, Chicago Ave by the FLW house etc... I think if you live in any of these quieter areas, and expect it to be like living right off of Lake St, you'll probably be disappointed, or vice verse... I chose to live further from Lake St. because I wanted a more quieter feel, and the trade off is it takes longer to walk there, or a few minutes in the car, which I'm happy with... Just depends on what one wants.

[Hatchetman]

Perhaps you were sold a false bill of goods. It's a quiet little strip with a few shops and restaurants right next to the Blue Line. It's not changing anytime soon. I suggest embracing the serenity and finding your kicks elsewhere, like in the City.

[kindrakindra]

Originally Posted by campingqueen

I just moved to Oak Park and am renting a SFH in the Harrison Street Arts District. I had only heard good things about the area prior to moving, but now that I am there, I'm kind of disappointed. While the homes and neighbors themselves are nice, the businesses lining Harrison St. seem sort of grim - a number of them are closed or are possibly being renovated (I hope).

Does anyone have any insights into this area? Are any new businesses planning to move in? Any new restaurants? The Mexican restaurant looks scary and when we ate at the East Gate Cafe we were the only people there.

Just curious if anyone might have some inside knowledge. Here's hoping for a Harrison St. revival! Thanks!

East Gate is busy at different times (later evenings they host various "nights" based on interest). They do a popular story time during the week. The Mexican place is not scary, although the facade is odd. Some foodies swear by their food; I think it is fine. Buzz is almost always busy, and definitely packed at breakfast and lunch. They have great pies and scones. It is definitely a community meeting place where they host events in the evenings. Trattoria 225 is pretty good with an extensive gluten free menu. All their pizza crust is whole wheat and is awesome. The Arts distrist is close enough to the south OP Ave businesses. Check out Maragaritas, Kinderhook, Avenue Ale House and my favorite, Sen Sushi.

Because Harrison is the Arts District, it is made up of galleries. Unless you are looking to purchase art, I can see why those businesses aren't particularly helpful.

[oakparkdude]

A significant fraction of the commercial buildings in the Arts District are/were owned by a single family for decades. There is a widespread believe within the village that mismanagement by this one family has held back the Arts District for years. Obviously I'm not privy to the inner working of the ownership, but the fact that a lot of these holdings are/were in foreclosure proceedings does suggest that suboptimal management may be at least partially to blame for the current state of the Arts District. In fact the multi-year long foreclosure process was directly responsible for delay in the repair/releasing of the building on the SW corner of Harrison and Lombard.

Kleronomos' properties in Oak Park Arts District up for sale | Articles | News | OakPark.com

[campingqueen]

Hi all, thanks so much for your replies. First I want to say, I think my initial post was more negative than I intended. I think many of the existing business seem great - especially for families. We plan to take advantage of Magical Minds studio and the dance school for our kids in the fall. The East-Gate Cafe, while nearly empty, was very good and I would definitely go back. As for the Mexican place, my husband is a huge fan of scary Mexican places and anyway, I really shouldn't judge prior to having eaten there.

My post was largely sparked by the businesses on Harrison around Lombard, which I see have had their share of controversy. Thanks, oakparkdude, for posting that link - it explains a lot. I just read through a number of older articles about the facade collapse and the foreclosure proceedings. What a mess!

It does sound like once the foreclosure has been finalized and the buildings are available for lease, things could improve on that block. I certainly hope so. I couldn't find any recent updates as to the state of the foreclosure or the sale of the buildings. Does anyone have any current information?

[kindrakindra]

Don't forget about Musikgarten (and Actors Garden) too!

[JacksonPanther]

Kleronomos has held Harrison St hostage for literally decades. Commercial buildings with no tenants for many years, into and out of foreclosure, on and off the market time and again. I can only assume he uses the Oak Park buildings as collateral for other investments and ventures, bcause there's no way he's making any money off of vacant buildings.

Not sure how the recent elections will make a difference. Local government can't force anyone to get tenants, and can't force the foreclosure process to move any quicker than it does. Kleronomos knows the rules well, and plays the game better than the local government.

[BigLake]

That area needs a craft brew pub. But then again, I think anywhere needs a craft beer pub.