Why buy a condo on a busy commercial street? Why not?

Yesterday’s post on the monster balconies / terraces at 2852 N Halsted St drew some groans, including this comment from “Bad Kroupa” (copied verbatim, apparently, by Alan Keribar, which probably made “Bad” feel all warm inside, unless they’re the same person. Either way, Bad seems like good people.): “You gotta be crazy to put down $675k to live on Halsted.”

There was a time we would have agreed wholeheartedly, and we would have added streets like Ashland and Belmont to his dictum. But all of these streets have seen a wave of residential development. Whatever you think of the designs or locations of these projects, many of them have been successful. That’s also the case with 2852 N Halsted St, according to commenter and sales agent Eric Rojas, who points out that only one unit remains for sale at the development.

The recent video above highlights just how much residential development is underway on Belmont Avenue. Are buyers more willing to live on busy commercial thoroughfares than they once were, or did a frenetic market allow builders to take the risk on locations buyers might have accepted all along? Rojas mentions great streetscape views and some skyline views at 2852 N Halsted. Is there an upside to living on streets like Halsted and Belmont? Better views, better pricing, urban excitement?

What are the factors that paved the way for building fairly upscale, for-sale housing on busy commercial streets? The new median planters on Ashland might seem minor, but they certainly haven’t hurt efforts to sell condos on this highway with stoplights. The character of the street has changed dramatically on some stretches. The same is true of Belmont in places and, to a much smaller extent, some pieces of Halsted.

We’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you live in a new condo on one of these streets or know someone who does. Click on “Comments” below.

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