The first-time buyer: shopping for a home in Rogers Park

We probably could have spent more time honing in on a neighborhood in which to buy our first home, but in the end, we gravitated toward Rogers Park. I think that my childhood experiences influenced the decision, subconsciously. When I was a kid, my family spent most weekends waterskiing or kayaking on some river or another, and I’ve always wanted to own a place near the water.

Rogers Park is one of the more affordable neighborhoods on the lakefront, but it has its problems, as everyone knows. Drug-dealing and loitering are evident in its main commercial corridors; in fact, dealing is probably the major form of commerce on these streets, because retail is sadly lacking. Depressing dollar stores, predatory loan stores and dodgy-looking liquor shops blight Howard Street and Morse Avenue. I hear that there are retailers interested in coming in, but the owners of the buildings don’t appear to want to sell, despite the fact that the storefronts are vacant.

So why choose Rogers Park, other than for its proximity to the lake? I actually think that Rogers Park looks a hell of a lot better than Uptown right now (except for that small area around the Borders store), although Uptown has such wonderful potential.

Back to Rogers Park – everywhere you look, apartment buildings are being converted into condos and the prices of those condos are rising. The neighborhood has four el stations and lots of tree-lined streets.

Howard Street offers the Purple Line Express to downtown and the CTA has just begun a more than $200 million renovation of the God-awful-looking station. Loyola University is planning a massive mixed-use project at the southern end of the neighborhood in the next few years.

As for retail – Jarvis Avenue has potential, especially the block near the el station. There’s Lumbar Lounge, women’s massage and spa business; the second-hand bookstore Under the Table Books; the pet-accessories shop Roger’s Bark, and Poitin Stil, the Irish pub that opened last year. A few weeks ago, Charmers Cafe opened its doors, as did the cool little Dagel and Beli store. I stopped in for a coffee at Charmers and a lox bagel at The Dagel and Beli on the Saturday that they opened and they were busy serving all kinds of different people, from families with young kids to older couples. Builders are putting the final touches on a wood-fired pizza restaurant that’s going to open in a matter of months. Surely it’s only a matter of time before Jarvis becomes a thriving retail hub?

Any other Rogers Park buyers out there?

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