Tri-Taylor Neighborhood (Chicago: condos, rental, work)

[jakei18]

Hi All,

My wife and I are moving to Chicago and we've found a condo we really like in the Tri-Taylor neighborhood (SW of United Center, W of Med Village, on Harrison & Western). I was hoping to get an opinion on the area (safety, appreciation, night-life, etc).

Thanks in advance.

[hawkfandan]

Hello there -

I grew up not far from there and still live relatively close.

While I really enjoy some aspects - Tri Taylor can be tricky. The area known as Tri Taylor is rapidly expanding and sometimes the lines can blur. On Taylor street you have some great resteraunts (also known as Little Italy), literally 20 yards away from the projects. Rosebud is my favorite!

Taylor street runs East/West thru the heart of the area. On the far East side you have UIC (Univ IL @ Chicago) - which has expanded greatly. That means the area is inhabited by many UIC students. Heading west - you have a stretch of projects as well as some fairly rough areas. A few blocks down is Little Italy - resteraunts, Italian Sports Hall of Fame, etc. and then a giant Medical Facility (cant remember which one).

There are a ton of new condos & townhomes going up over there. The only place I wouldnt recommend is anything West of Western Ave - which I believe they now consider Tri Taylor. Its the urban equivelant to the wild frontier. Affordable housing with close proximity to the city - but not yet developed to the point of many other parts of the city. Lots of car break ins, etc.

Please let me know if I can further assist.

Thanks.

Oops....just noticed you said Harrison & Western. I had an opportunity to buy over there - third building from the corner (heading west) on Harrison - off of Western. I declined. Its not bad during the day - but when I went back at midnight - I wasnt comfortable with it.

There is also a halfway house a few blocks west of there - closer to California that creates a steady stream of walking traffic down Harrison.

Across the street (290 EXP) - are projects - which I believe are in the process of being torn down.

Thanks.

[jakei18]

Thanks Hawkfandan.

We have not had the chance to be there after dark. Hopefully it is not too scary. The appreciation is what attracted us, so hopefully with the continued regentrification, the area will become more attractive.

Thanks for the info.

[hawkfandan]

No worries. It's not bad - its just a matter of what you are comfortable with.

Good luck on the move!

Dan.

[Looking4home07]

I recently looked a condo on Harrison and Western headed towards California. Did you go ahead with your move into this area? How do you like it. It appears to be a little dicey. In one area it looks like their is some development but in others it looks a bit scary....

[RyanMcIntyre]

For all of you buying condos on the Western Cooridor in the Tri-Taylor area, if you are looking at a 5-10 year ownership, you will come out very well.

I lived in the area for two years and run 5 medical student rental units in the area all West of Western in the 2400 block. I have been providing housing for out-of-town medical students for two years and have never had a safety incident with anyone. It is a working class neighborhood with strong gentrification occurring. I am finally seeing some of the kitchy businesses coming in and the area improving tremendously.

An amazing fact: there are almost no police blotter incidents of personal attacks in the area (unlike Little Italy on the east side of the district).

As with anywhere in the city, you have to be careful at night, but all in all, it is a great neighborhood. Contact me if you have specific questions...I am very familiar with the whole area. Good luck!

Cheers,
Ryan

[Chicago60614]

Yeah, that area is just on the cusp of the gentrification. 10 years ago anything west of the expressway was pretty iffy. Now it's moved out to about Western as far as new housing, safety, new retail, restaurants. The areas west of that are still pretty stagnant though. But like someone else said, it's still moving more and more west each year, so in a few years it'll be a much different area.

[Lookout Kid]

You really do have to be careful there, though. I was on a rooftop deck over there last summer, and the fun activity was watching the drug deals go down in the vacant lots near the projects. It may seem like it's pretty safe much of the time, but it can occasionally be as dangerous as any neighborhood in Chicago with the projects so close by.