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Yup. Come on down and take a look around.
It's referred as the hinsdale of the southwest because in comparison to all else in the south and particularly the southwest it's the flagship area. Just as some are under the impression that hinsdale is the flagship of the west.
I would strongly advise anyone who is looking to buy a nicer home in the south/sw region. To at least take a good look at flossmoor. And specifically compare what is currently available at their particular price point. Considering the current discount that can be had on many homes for sale in Flossmoor. It's a pretty compelling sell at this point. Although frankfort has a lot to offer also in terms of value on newer high end homes. But the discounts on both older and newer high end homes in flossmoor definitely appear to be a bit deeper at the moment. Frankfort has a better school district overall. But Flossmoor wins out in other areas. The community charm is a big plus for flossmoor. And I would still say that it would be more accurate to describe Flossmoor as the Hinsdale of the southland. Frankfort has an abundance of newer built wealthy subdivisions. But it just doesn't have a neighborhood with old money charm comparable to what you see in neighborhoods surrounding the Flossmoor Country Club. Those are old money homes and mansions. Some built before the 1930's. There are also a lot of newer built homes and mansions in that area as well. Which makes flossmoor unique and worth a glance.
I would strongly advise anyone who is looking to buy a nicer home in the south/sw region. To at least take a good look at flossmoor. And specifically compare what is currently available at their particular price point. Considering the current discount that can be had on many homes for sale in Flossmoor. It's a pretty compelling sell at this point. Although frankfort has a lot to offer also in terms of value on newer high end homes. But the discounts on both older and newer high end homes in flossmoor definitely appear to be a bit deeper at the moment. Frankfort has a better school district overall. But Flossmoor wins out in other areas. The community charm is a big plus for flossmoor. And I would still say that it would be more accurate to describe Flossmoor as the Hinsdale of the southland. Frankfort has an abundance of newer built wealthy subdivisions. But it just doesn't have a neighborhood with old money charm comparable to what you see in neighborhoods surrounding the Flossmoor Country Club. Those are old money homes and mansions. Some built before the 1930's. There are also a lot of newer built homes and mansions in that area as well. Which makes flossmoor unique and worth a glance.
Check out downtown frankfort and surrounding historic district. Houses around there are very charming
Houses are definitely cheaper in flossmoor then frankfort. Way more. That gem would be 1-1.4 million in frankfort.
I'll admit frankfort doesn't have a lot of vintage stuff like that its more newer McMansions. There's like 7-10 just on Redfin over 1-2 million but they are mostly newer houses.
Yup. Come on down and take a look around.
It's referred as the hinsdale of the southwest because in comparison to all else in the south and particularly the southwest it's the flagship area. Just as some are under the impression that hinsdale is the flagship of the west.
Frankfort has some nice McMansions, if that's your thing, but nobody outside of Frankfort refers to it as the "Hinsdale of the Southwest." Flossmoor beats Frankfort every day in terms of charm, walkability, transit and home value. It certainly has some challenges, which seem more to do with broader issues in the Southland than with Flossmoor in particular. However, Frankfort and the rest of the "boom town/sprawl" SW suburbs west of I-57 aren't exactly "decline-proof." They are still far away from major employment centers and have high taxes and high inventory of unsold homes. You won't have home appreciation as high as you will in "land-locked" areas because there will always be competition from new construction. Plus, all of that c. 2000-2008 new construction is going to age very poorly--look at how dated 70s-90s homes look. Compare that with the pre-war homes in Flossmoor and other similar communities that never go out of fashion.
Now, if new construction and big box stores are your thing, and you don't mind a long-ish commute, then Frankfort certainly has a lot to offer in that regard. The homes around Butternut Creek, Abbey Woods and Prestwick are nice and many on wooded lots.
As for the topic of this thread: I think that Flossmoor's future will be fine in that it's not going to "decline" or "get worse" compared to what it is like today. There are still people with money moving to the Old Flossmoor, Flossmoor Estates, Flossmoor Park, East Flossmoor/Country Club areas.Many people that grew up in the area move back when they start a family. It's similar to Beverly in the city in that it has its core of families that have lived in the area over multiple generations and will continue to do so.
But, I agree that Flossmoor and its neighbors have some tough decisions to make. There needs to be more of a concerted effort among the communities (e.g., Homewood, Flossmoor, Olympia Fields and Matteson) to attract businesses to the area--particularly professional/white collar jobs.
Office space rents should be lower (even with the higher taxes) compared to the west and north suburbs. When 294 and 57 are finally linked, that can open up more commuting options. Obviously, these are big goals and dreams, but this type of job center is what the area is going to need in order to compete with the west and north regions. This would also help Frankfort and its neighbors to the west remain stable over the long run.
Homewood-Flossmoor should also actively try to recruit older millennials who are starting families, as they don't have many options that they can afford and that also provide the walkability that Flossmoor (and Homewood) offers. People that live in the city after college that later move to the suburbs after they start a family generally want a suburb that is similiar to their city neighborhood (walkable, pre-war homes, independent shops, close to train, etc.).
Some good suggestions, but the "competition" is not asleep at the switch either...
Quote:
Originally Posted by JamieLannister
Frankfort has some nice McMansions, if that's your thing, but nobody outside of Frankfort refers to it as the "Hinsdale of the Southwest." Flossmoor beats Frankfort every day in terms of charm, walkability, transit and home value. It certainly has some challenges, which seem more to do with broader issues in the Southland than with Flossmoor in particular. However, Frankfort and the rest of the "boom town/sprawl" SW suburbs west of I-57 aren't exactly "decline-proof." They are still far away from major employment centers and have high taxes and high inventory of unsold homes. You won't have home appreciation as high as you will in "land-locked" areas because there will always be competition from new construction. Plus, all of that c. 2000-2008 new construction is going to age very poorly--look at how dated 70s-90s homes look. Compare that with the pre-war homes in Flossmoor and other similar communities that never go out of fashion.
Now, if new construction and big box stores are your thing, and you don't mind a long-ish commute, then Frankfort certainly has a lot to offer in that regard. The homes around Butternut Creek, Abbey Woods and Prestwick are nice and many on wooded lots.
As for the topic of this thread: I think that Flossmoor's future will be fine in that it's not going to "decline" or "get worse" compared to what it is like today. There are still people with money moving to the Old Flossmoor, Flossmoor Estates, Flossmoor Park, East Flossmoor/Country Club areas.Many people that grew up in the area move back when they start a family. It's similar to Beverly in the city in that it has its core of families that have lived in the area over multiple generations and will continue to do so.
But, I agree that Flossmoor and its neighbors have some tough decisions to make. There needs to be more of a concerted effort among the communities (e.g., Homewood, Flossmoor, Olympia Fields and Matteson) to attract businesses to the area--particularly professional/white collar jobs.
Office space rents should be lower (even with the higher taxes) compared to the west and north suburbs. When 294 and 57 are finally linked, that can open up more commuting options. Obviously, these are big goals and dreams, but this type of job center is what the area is going to need in order to compete with the west and north regions. This would also help Frankfort and its neighbors to the west remain stable over the long run.
Homewood-Flossmoor should also actively try to recruit older millennials who are starting families, as they don't have many options that they can afford and that also provide the walkability that Flossmoor (and Homewood) offers. People that live in the city after college that later move to the suburbs after they start a family generally want a suburb that is similiar to their city neighborhood (walkable, pre-war homes, independent shops, close to train, etc.).
There are millions of sq ft existing office space is towns all along the 294/88/355 corridors and the towns that are trying to help brokers market this space are not having an easy time of attracting tenants. The overall tax structure of Illinois is a mess and folks that make decisions about where to locate their business don't like the looming problems that are getting worse.
The overall value proposition of towns along the BNSF or UP-W / N / NW lines just is far more appealing than even the nicest towns served by raillines in the broad southland. It is undeniable that Flossmoor does have a lot of charm but increasingly that is not enough to overcome the regional issues.
Over the years I have seen many foolish efforts of government to try to intervene in "redevelopment" or "economic planning" and the results of these interventions is more often than not disastrous. What I have seen have at least some success are what I would call the "basics" -- keep the town as free from crime as is possible, make the tax structure as efficient and fair as possible, keep the zoning as balanced as possible between the desires of people to update / expand without steamrollering places that have charm / visual appeal, keep the schools as high performing as possible. Use vacanices / abandonment as an opportunity to literally level eysores instead of holding out hope that some "angel" will surface witha creative re-use on the cheap. Don't court "grand plan" type redevelopment that has a huge propensity for that one key developer to go "belly up" and leave a gaping hole in town, instead try to mitigate the risk with incremental redevelopment.
The trends I see in the southland are not quite as dire as trying to "catch a falling knife" but neither is there much evidence that things are really climbing out of the crater of the post-2008 bubble collapse. The things that might stabilize some negative trends could in fact better connection of 294 & 57 but even that has the real potential to exacerbate some of the things people might be avoiding by choosing the southland -- a little of the "rural character" that some of the roads still have reminds one more of parts of Lake or Kane Co than the bulk of Cook Co. If traffic goes up and people clamor for wider surface streets that will likely result in more of the nasty strip malls and other clutter that people decry in the "beige" car-centric suburbs from Schaumburg through Carol Stream / Glendale Heights...
Chet -- good points. I completely agree--especially regarding redevelopment efforts. Attracting quality commercial tenants is tough for even the N/NW/W regions, so that's certainly an uphill battle for the Southland. Might even be near "impossible" save for massive, massive economic and political improvements that we are unlikely to see in our lifetimes.
I'd love to see a good (and realistic) comprehensive plan for Flossmoor and its surrounding communities. For instance, look at what La Grange has done to improve its downtown over the past 20 years and how much that has improved the village overall. Of course, La Grange already had a lot going for it, but its leaders did come together with a plan to revitalize the downtown, which has been a big success. Now, La Grange is considered one of the "cool/acceptable" suburbs for 30-somethings with kids looking to move out/back to the burbs from the city.
Not saying that can be exactly duplicated in Flossmoor (or Homewood--which, of course, has the bigger downtown). However, there are certainly principles and ideas (including what you mentioned) from that plan that could be applied to H-F -- particuarly so as to avoid strip-malling the area.
For instance, Flossmoor Station is already a regional draw, so maybe that can be leveraged someway so that more people can "discover" the rest of Flossmoor (and Homewood, for that matter).
Chet -- good points. I completely agree--especially regarding redevelopment efforts. Attracting quality commercial tenants is tough for even the N/NW/W regions, so that's certainly an uphill battle for the Southland. Might even be near "impossible" save for massive, massive economic and political improvements that we are unlikely to see in our lifetimes.
I'd love to see a good (and realistic) comprehensive plan for Flossmoor and its surrounding communities. For instance, look at what La Grange has done to improve its downtown over the past 20 years and how much that has improved the village overall. Of course, La Grange already had a lot going for it, but its leaders did come together with a plan to revitalize the downtown, which has been a big success. Now, La Grange is considered one of the "cool/acceptable" suburbs for 30-somethings with kids looking to move out/back to the burbs from the city.
Not saying that can be exactly duplicated in Flossmoor (or Homewood--which, of course, has the bigger downtown). However, there are certainly principles and ideas (including what you mentioned) from that plan that could be applied to H-F -- particuarly so as to avoid strip-malling the area.
For instance, Flossmoor Station is already a regional draw, so maybe that can be leveraged someway so that more people can "discover" the rest of Flossmoor (and Homewood, for that matter).
There were some folks in LaGrange that were much more aggressive about increasing the housing / mixed use on LaGrange Rd and it seems that is some of the LEASt succesful of the "upgrades" that have happened. The strength of local businesses like Palmer's and the various smaller resturants as well as the uniquely succesful hardware / lighting business are the real "anchors" of the vitality there.
Other towns (notable Lisle) have badly hurt the little bit of local business they had with poorly implemented plans for residential components...
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Some good suggestions, but the "competition" is not asleep at the switch either...
