Waukegan (Chicago, Springfield, North Chicago: 2015, apartments, rentals)

[sharapata]

What do folks here think of Waukegan? Driving around town, it seems like it could be a diamond in the rough. Although there are plenty of neighborhoods that have seen better days, it seems like there is a lot of historical value. The northern section of the city doesn't seem all that terribly bad at all, plus it's adjacent to Lake Michigan. Is there a potential for a lot of gentrification, or is Waukegan viewed as a lost cause?

[chet everett]

The relative ability of Waukegan to grow more desirable is severely limited. The employment base is very poor, manufacturers greatly prefer newer / cheaper sites in Gurnee or southern WI...
Schools are severely underfunded, unfortunate mix of high-need students...

Although there is a very nice little neighborhood of historic / mansion type homes the value is not good — high taxes and not much hope for price appreciation...

Some folks probably do OK with rentals, but as many who might’ve been tenants increasingly wonder about US immigration policy even that is iffy...

[lakecountylifer]

Waukegan is a mess. Underfunded and dysfunctional local government waiting for a never to become a reality casino for 10 years and running make things worse. Waukegan is highly Hispanic with plenty of super mercados, tienda’s and other Hispanic specialty businesses which is appealing to that demographic. Add in affordable housing (in comparison to other lake county towns)——and Waukegan is the right type of town for many people regardless of the political and economic situation the town faces. If gentrification means the urban hipsters turning Waukegan into a wicker Park——the answer is no.

[maggiorelago]

Waukegan is actually pretty nice in the extreme southwest of the town, near Libertyville...

But I will say, for the record, especially near North Chicago, Waukegan's a mess...the high school's underfunded, and certain parts are pretty shady. I hope the town can improve in the next few years...

[mkdude_08]

How does Waukegan compare to Gurnee? Are there parts of Gurnee where the schools are very good, low crime, etc? I realize it's not a suburb like Libertyville, but how does Gurnee compare between the two? Is Grayslake much better? I may be accepting an offer in Lincolnshire and it would be tough for us to afford Libertyville. Thanks!

[NorthSideSoxGuy]

Waukegan is one of those places where I'd argue the perception is worse than the reality. Is it the nicest part of Lake County? Not even close. But, it is not as bad as people make it out to be. I think a lot of it has to do with lack of familiarity. Most folks only ever visit if they have business to take care of at the courthouse or to see a show at the Genessee. Quite frankly, there's not much else there to do.

There are actually quite a few nice areas of the city. As the you mentioned, the area north of downtown along Sheridan Road is quite nice. It has more of a "North Shore" feel than the rest of the city. And as someone else mentioned, the far southwest edge of the city (close to Libertyville) is really nice with larger homes on estate-style lots. The northwest corner near Wadsworth is also pretty nice.

However, Waukegan at it's core is a working class town where the majority of people are blue collar and lower income. This is not a bad thing, but may somewhat contribute to the town's run-down reputation.

To your question of is Waukegan a lost cause? I don't think so. It has challenges, but I see the potential for renewal. The big thing I believe holding the city back is political dysfunction. The city needs leaders who can actually deliver on their promises. Stop chasing pipe dreams like the casino and focus on the things you can actually do.

The key I think is the lakefront. If the city can manage to redevelop the lakefront along the lines of what Kenosha did (apartments, townhomes, shops, park land, etc.), then I think there is hope for renewal. You already have the harbor, the metra station, the genessee and a lot of nicer older buildings downtown. They are assets that can be utilized to reinvigorate downtown. Perhaps even with some 'hipsters'. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

[MillennialUrbanist]

Originally Posted by NorthSideSoxGuy

However, Waukegan at it's core is a working class town where the majority of people are blue collar and lower income. This is not a bad thing, but may somewhat contribute to the town's run-down reputation.
...
The key I think is the lakefront. If the city can manage to redevelop the lakefront along the lines of what Kenosha did (apartments, townhomes, shops, park land, etc.), then I think there is hope for renewal. You already have the harbor, the metra station, the genessee and a lot of nicer older buildings downtown. They are assets that can be utilized to reinvigorate downtown. Perhaps even with some 'hipsters'. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

Like you said, Waukegan is working-class blue-collar town, with a long-running industrial history, which gives it a gritty looks and feel. It has a dense, walkable core, even if a lot of it got suburbanized during the Urban Renewal years. It also has historic Beaux Arts and Art Deco buildings; some of them are even high-rises. These elements are like kryptonite for hipsters! On top of that, Waukegan has gentrification-friendly demographics, political correctness nonewithstanding.

If all goes well, Waukegan can easily go through the Wicker Park-style gentrification, rather than the Kenosha-style redevelopment. Its distant suburban location will be a hindrance, but it the city can tear down the Amstutz Expressway (which has become a white elephant), and leverage its Metra station a little better, it can overcome even that.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by MillennialUrbanist

Like you said, Waukegan is working-class blue-collar town, with a long-running industrial history, which gives it a gritty looks and feel. It has a dense, walkable core, even if a lot of it got suburbanized during the Urban Renewal years. It also has historic Beaux Arts and Art Deco buildings; some of them are even high-rises. These elements are like kryptonite for hipsters! On top of that, Waukegan has gentrification-friendly demographics, political correctness nonewithstanding.

If all goes well, Waukegan can easily go through the Wicker Park-style gentrification, rather than the Kenosha-style redevelopment. Its distant suburban location will be a hindrance, but it the city can tear down the Amstutz Expressway (which has become a white elephant), and leverage its Metra station a little better, it can overcome even that.

The "expressway" is not even four miles of very poorly maintained stupidly expensive pavement from an era when "building roads" was THE thing to do if you wanted to encourage more industrial uses -- Have You Ever Driven on the Road to Nowhere? I Have... - The GateThe Gate

Sadly there has not been any progress in removing this blemish as the city truly has no dough to do the job, Springfield is also not in any condition to splash cash at something that, in the short term, would hurt the flow of commuters and industrial traffic between the Abbott logistics / manufacturing locations and the main campus. You can forget about Illinois getting any Federal DOT dollars for this kind of work too -- Rutter: Waukegan's Amstutz Expressway is a "massive purple wart" - Lake County News-Sun

The best hope is probably for some kind of not entirely altruistic private developer to jumpstart revitalization with both a cash infusion and some kind of large scale waterfront type venture... The model might be St. Joe / Benton Harbor MI or Minneapolis Minneapolis Upper Harbor Terminal Development Project Harbor Shores Announces Centerpiece Waterfront Development I gotta think that with the multimillion dollar estates just a stone's throw away SOMEBODY will eventually figure out a way to make tons of cash here...

[deeman7]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The best hope is probably for some kind of not entirely altruistic private developer to jumpstart revitalization with both a cash infusion and some kind of large scale waterfront type venture...

Is there some sort of Jack Benny fund they can dip into for this?

[Missy2U]

Our police scanner covers Waukegan - they have far too many calls for violent crimes for me to have ANY interest in the area at all.