Since those projects along Lake Street were knocked down a ways back, that West Loop industrial corridor has been steadily flipping fancy, reaching farther and farther west. I think it's a good bet that it'll reach Garfield Park. (I type this from a new commercial studio at Sacramento and Fulton. It used to be at Walnut and Ashland but rising rent pushed it west. What does that tell you?)It's interesting how East Garfield Park has a huge wedge of connected private land (the Metra yard, the impound yard, the paper distributor, and the Santa Fe yard) that kind of breaks it off from Westown and Ukrainian Village. It kind of feels like an island if you're coming from that direction.I have friends who are renting and friends who have bought property in Garfield Park. The buildings are beautiful, as are the boulevards and parks. The train goes right through it. I remember Logan Square in the early '90s. Didn't look much different than Garfield Park looks now.jeff\_fox wrote:or, y'know, try a neighborhood other than Logan Square ¦there's a whole new exciting world out there!Yeah, it's so strange to me, how many people I know who have lived in Chicago for years and almost never venture out into other neighborhoods. And don't get me started on people who refuse to learn the grid (number) system at all. I know, I know. I'm an old fart.

Jam Band Fans Unable To Come Down After Elevator Gets Stuck In Willis Tower

PEPPER! wrote:http://elotefinder.com/Outstanding!!!

Head's up -The Aloha billboard in Logan Square came down yesterday. Walked by today to pay my respects.

154 wrote:cerebralheadtrip wrote:yea i never really got that vibe from Albany Park. i think the fact that its an hour into the Loop on the Brown Line will keep things a bit more in check.Not enough of a dive bar/arts/coffee shop/boutique scene, and I don't think hipsters are fond of sharing their hangouts with large Persian families on the weekends or whatever.Yeah I was joking about Albany Park. I'm buying a place up there right now and I'm pretty far from cool. Let the hipsters work their way up the blue line like they been doing. They'll conquer Irving Park next.

I've probably said this a bunch in different threads or wherever, but I can't see any neighborhood gentrifying to the level of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Andersonville, etc. unless they are within 30 minutes of downtown (either by el or car). I believe this is why Humbolt Park never shaped up the way everyone assumed it would in the late '90s, early aught's. No way for downtown money earners, or what I call, "the third wave" of gentrifiers to get there and back without irritation. If the city can somehow grow its population, I would bet a bunch money on west Pilsen/east Little Village and Garfield Park first. There's plenty hipster activity in both and they're minutes from the loop. They have the beautiful housing stock, the boulevard system, and parks. Then, the actual south side, along the Orange and Green lines. McKinley Park is 10 minutes from downtown on the el and I55, looks identical to logan square and bucktown. It's also part of the boulevard system. After living in Brighton Park/Back of the Yards for 10 years, about 6 years ago, I was stunned when I saw my first hoop-ringed fixie pilot sailing through a red light at Western and Archer. [ominous music]There's a steady trickle of them now.[/ominous music] Bronzeville seems like a candidate. I don't know enough about it.

That's interesting about the rising Asian population, didn't know that. But more recently, the entire metro area has been declining, not just south and west sides. Other reasons cited including rising taxes, state budget crises, not enough job growth, too much competition for good schools, etc.

greg wrote:I've probably said this a bunch in different threads or wherever, but I can't see any neighborhood gentrifying to the level of Wicker Park, Logan Square, Andersonville, etc. unless they are within 30 minutes of downtown (either by el or car). I believe this is why Humbolt Park never shaped up the way everyone assumed it would in the late '90s, early aught's. No way for downtown money earners, or what I call, the third wave of gentrifiers to get there and back without irritation. If the city can somehow grow its population, I would bet a bunch money on west Pilsen/east Little Village and Garfield Park first. There's plenty hipster activity in both and they're minutes from the loop. They have the beautiful housing stock, the boulevard system, and parks. Then, the actual south side, along the Orange and Green lines. McKinley Park is 10 minutes from downtown on the el and I55, looks identical to logan square and bucktown. It's also part of the boulevard system. After living in Brighton Park/Back of the Yards for 10 years, about 6 years ago, I was stunned when I saw my first hoop-ringed fixie pilot sailing through a red light at Western and Archer. [ominous music]There's a steady trickle of them now.[/ominous music] Bronzeville seems like a candidate. I don't know enough about it.Well, Humboldt Park took a little while but with the 606 pushing development westward it definitely seems to be changing.As far as McKinley Park, I really wish something would happen with those massive industrial warehouses down around Pershing Rd. The scale and cohesion of them is really impressive, but theyre slowly falling apart. We've already lost some big ones to fire and demolition in the past few years. So much squandered potential.One trend a lot of people seem to be missing though is the influx of Chinese/asian immigrants into the near south side. Its been happening quietly but the asian populations are really growing in areas outside the traditional Chinatown. You see it increasingly in Bridgeport/Brighton Park/McKinley Park. And Chinatown itself is doing extremely well.https://nextcity.org/features/view/chic ... businessesThat said, it will be interesting to see how much of this will offset middle class African Americans fleeing the south side. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/chicagos ... dle-class/Its a very troubling trend, as much of Chicago's south side has been propped up by middle class families such as this. I think a lot of neighborhoods are truly on the brink if this trend continues. This chart doesnt tell the whole story, but you definitely get a sense of the exodus:https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/2016051 ... entury-map

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-62-downtown-acres-0512-biz-20160511-story.htmlIf this actually gets moving that is of a scope and size it's hard to even wrap your head around