River North: safe on Grand? (Chicago, Montgomery: low income, lofts, condos)

[chicklet]

I'm considering buying a condo at 420 Grand Ave and would need to walk to Clark to catch the #22 to commute for work. How's Grand between Clark and Kingsbury? It looked a bit more deserted than the other streets there (no restaurants, etc), so not sure if it can get sketchy to walk alone? Especially at night (not late - between 6-8p)? Any info would be appreciated.

[aragx6]

A bit barren but safe. You should be fine at that time of night. Just keep your eyes open (as you should anywhere in this city) and you'll be fine.

[Chicago60614]

There's quite a bit of development going on in this area, so things should improve as far as ammenities.

I believe it's a very safe area as well. Sure there are random things that happen, and you have to keep an eye out - but who doesn't do that anyway

[Avengerfire]

You will be fine. The other posters stated things well...

[milliqat]

How about Kingsbury itself? There are nice lofts on top of David Barton gym, but it is right on Chicago Ave at the corner of Kingsbury. Also some nice lofts across the street from East Bank Club. The Chicago Ave. location has lots more public transport (so safer in that regard) but is closer to the (permanent, as I understand) remnants of Cabrini-Green. Would it be foolish to move to these locations and expect to be able to walk around at 11:00 at night?

[Chicago60614]

They're tearing Cabrini down, almost all of the highrises are down except maybe 8. Of those 8, I would say 4 of those are abandoned and waiting to be torn down. I noticed on Monday they're starting to rip down one of the last remaining red buildings right now.

Everything in Cabrini is being leveled except for the 2-story original buildings. Those are all being extensively remodeled. Replacing the whole complex are new, nice townhomes and mid-rise buildings with a 1/3-Market Priced, 1/3 Low Income and 1/3 Public Housing Mix.

I wouldn't worry about Cabrini, the old Cabrini is already pretty much dead. I haven't heard of much crime coming out of the area in years since the population of the projects plumeted to just a few thousand. They took down the worst buildings a few years ago, and are still ripping down.

I think that area is actually decent to buy, lower prices now, but in a few years it should skyrocket once the transformation is complete.

That's well north of you though, between 3/4 and a mile away. In the city a mile makes a HUGE difference. It's not like the burbs where you drive a mile and are basically in the same area you were before. Here just a few blocks can really change things.

Anyway. Point is: Don't worry.

[Lookout Kid]

I work near Clark and Grand, and this area is VERY safe. I don't think I've seen a single incident here, other than a guy jumping out of a hotel window a few months ago. There is a VERY active fire station at Illinois between Clark and Dearborn, however, so you will get a lot of siren noise. Lot's of tourists still mill about the streets because of a few westerly hotels... The condos in the Contemporaine building should be close to where you're looking, and those are VERY nice and designed by a Ralph Johnson, a prominent architect with Perkins and Will. If I were to buy in the area, I'd live there!

Grand is pretty far from Cabrini, so I wouldn't even factor it in.

[Lookout Kid]

To the guy looking at Chicago and Kingsbury, I wouldn't worry too much about walking around there at night. You are closer to Cabrini than grand, but it's really not much of a factor anymore. In fact, the Japonais restaurant and Montgomery tower have really taken that area in a more upscale direction! 11:00 p.m. shouldn't be an issue at all, but just keep your eyes open.

[QOESTE]

Would it be reasonably safe to Walk from Noble Square to River North on Chicago Ave???
a friend of mine who is thinking about moving to East Village or Noble Square was wondering