If we were betting types here at Yo – and we’re not, our probation officer doesn’t allow it – we’d say that the so-called South South Loop looks like an area that’s going to show some decent appreciation over the next few years (in recognition of the cooling market we’ve downgraded the prospects of appreciation from “fabulous” to “decent,” to be on the safe side).
Why is the smart money on So-So-Lo? Well, the South Loop has already peaked and prices there are getting slightly uncomfortable. And developers who previously wouldn’t have deigned to cross the invisible line at Cermak Road that separates the South Loop from the South Side, are now going the whole hog and developing the area (from Cermak down to about 26th Street).
Upcoming developments include the Wabash Club, 2390 S. Wabash Ave.; Prairie Station at 21st Street and Prairie Ave., and Lexington Park Condominiums at Cermak Road and Michigan Avenue (where it appears that Owen Wilson has made himself at home, judging by the picture on the Web site).
The new projects are a little more affordable than their neighbors to the north and will probably inspire copycats, creating a critical mass of new residents in what is currently a bit of a wasteland. Then everyone will start bitching about how they don’t have any cafes in the neighborhood. Then they’ll bitch when Starbucks arrives, even though it will help property values.
That’s my bet, so to speak.