Which of these areas are on the upside/downside? (Chicago: for sale, rental)

[WestGuest]

By this I mean more places being fixed up than deteriorating. People saying they want to move there or actually moving there. Which are livable which should be avoided?



1..South Shore maybe 8000 blk south Essex


2. Parkway Gardens - Woodlawn around 6500 South Champlian


3 Gresham 8200 South Laflin


4. West Garfield Park 400 South Kostner


5. Englewood/ Auburn Park 7000 South Halsted


6 North Lawndale 1500 South Harding


7 Heart of Chicago 2200 south Western


Which do you like or dislike?


Are there maps anywhere which designate different areas of Chicago on any of these factors/


Thanks-- i was curious - there are some nice old buildings for sale in these areas love old architecture..

[via chicago]

it depends what youre looking for. primary residence? investment property? no ones moving to any of these neighborhoods in droves, but Heart of Chicago probably makes most sense in the near term. although i cant say being right on Western has much of any curb appeal.

[WestGuest]

Which would make a good residence-seems most would have a rental too.

[BRU67]

And

Originally Posted by via chicago

it depends what youre looking for. primary residence? investment property? no ones moving to any of these neighborhoods in droves, but Heart of Chicago probably makes most sense in the near term. although i cant say being right on Western has much of any curb appeal.

Heart Chicago has a good upside. North Lawndale I guess could be a long shot, as could WGP, due to what's happening in the West Loop but they're not in the path of any imminent gentrification.

South Lawndale will need to gentrify before North Lawndale does and East Garfield Park will have to gentrify before West Garfield Park does. Amazon HQ2 might have helped but we're not going to be getting that.

People have been talking about Woodlawn piggybacking off of Hyde Park forever. But that has yet to happen. South Shore was going to be the next big thing several times now. But, again, nothing ever took root.

Problem with Heart of Chicago is that all the property owners know it has a good upside, as do buyers looking at Pilsen, so they're charging prices that contain an element of speculation; i.e. you'll be paying more than what the property is worth today.

If you are bullish on Chicago continuing to expand its Emerald City nabes then it might be right up your alley. If you're like me and just look at cash flow, it probably won't look very good from that standpoint.

[TBideon]

Heart of Chicago (do people really call it that besides realtors) is in significantly better shape than those other areas. Frankly, those other neighborhoods you picked are ****holes, and I wouldn't invest in any barring a massive population or economic uptick.

[via chicago]

south shore isnt bad. its just "far". the homes are pretty, mostly well maintained. its probably one of the last places in the city that you can still afford a SFH near the lake for a reasonable price. it has its issues but i dont think its nearly as bad as say WGP or Englewood or N Lawndale

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by TBideon

Heart of Chicago (do people really call it that besides realtors) is in significantly better shape than those other areas. Frankly, those other neighborhoods you picked are ****holes, and I wouldn't invest in any barring a massive population or economic uptick.

Actually, they often call it Pilsen to cash in on the hype. Heart of Chicago's actually an established name though, and distinguishes the Italian portion of the Lower West Side community area from the Mexican portion. Ironically, the latter is currently hotter, though properties in HOC tend to sell pretty quickly and for some pretty good money.

In my opinion, it doesn't really belong on the OP's list because there's a pretty big price difference between properties there and those in the other neighborhoods he cited.

[OKParker]

Originally Posted by via chicago

south shore isnt bad. its just "far". the homes are pretty, mostly well maintained. its probably one of the last places in the city that you can still afford a SFH near the lake for a reasonable price. it has its issues but i dont think its nearly as bad as say WGP or Englewood or N Lawndale

Southeast of South Shore has dirt cheap near-lake homes too.


Also to OP - the Pilsen property is the best, followed by WGP.

[BuhbyeRham]

Originally Posted by BRU67

Actually, they often call it Pilsen to cash in on the hype. Heart of Chicago's actually an established name though,

The entire Lower West Side has been commonly known as Pilsen for several decades now, and what may have theoretically at one point (though I have no idea when) been actually commonly known as "Heart of Chicago" at one point in ancient history is now clearly a well-established as part of Pilsen.

The people (landlords/realtors) pushing the definition of Pilsen to cash in on hype now days are actually WEST of Western, in Little Village, North Lawndale, Douglas Park, etc., trying to call it "West Pilsen," which I don't think anyone is truly buying. Even the Lagunitas Tap Room, Northwest of the tracks and damn near California Ave. has been claiming to be in "Pilsen" since it opened years ago. I've known a few North Siders who have fallen for this, but locals know better.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by BuhbyeRham

The entire Lower West Side has been commonly known as Pilsen for several decades now, and what may have theoretically at one point (though I have no idea when) been actually commonly known as "Heart of Chicago" at one point in ancient history is now clearly a well-established as part of Pilsen.

The people (landlords/realtors) pushing the definition of Pilsen to cash in on hype now days are actually WEST of Western, in Little Village, North Lawndale, Douglas Park, etc., trying to call it "West Pilsen," which I don't think anyone is truly buying. Even the Lagunitas Tap Room, Northwest of the tracks and damn near California Ave. has been claiming to be in "Pilsen" since it opened years ago. I've known a few North Siders who have fallen for this, but locals know better.

Reminds me of the late 1990s/early 2000s when Humboldt was being marketed as "West Bucktown," LOL!

Actually, to be fair, most realtors have been marketing Little Village in its own right, though invariably Pilsen is mentioned somewhere in the description and almost always with a descriptor like "up and coming," which a cynic may read as "you might not like it here now but just wait!"

I'd heard of "Heart of Chicago" years ago. I generally thought of it as the area with all the Italian restaurants off of Western between 18th and Blue Island or so. Per wiki, it's been used to refer to the soutwest portion of the Lower West Side Community Area, of which Pilsen is of course a part, since at least 1978, which was well before most of today's hipsters were even a glint in an eye...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_West_Side,_Chicago