I visited the Taste of Randolph Street yesterday with my long-awaited new camera. Bear with me as I slog through the maddening maze of video codecs, and navigate the endless trade-offs between output quality and processing time. I'm hoping it's a single-camera solution for high-quality stills and high-def video.

I stopped by CA23, where the old sales center building has been demolished to make way for the next phase of the development. My sally into the West Loop ends with a partial view of the skyline from Lake Street and the Kennedy.

The Taste continues today. While there you can check out a number of West Loop developments.

[where: 60607]

"I looked all over the city, everywhere from Pilsen to Ravenswood."

That's an inexact quote, in response to my question about where an interviewee had considered living during her last home search.

Chicago, for many college-educated young people, is much smaller than its municipal boundaries - and much larger than it was 20 years ago. Is it poised to expand, or shrink?

Where do these painted bohos strum their stuff? Be the first to name the neighborhood in the picture above and win a YoChicago yo-yo.

Wabash Properties CEO See Y. Wong may be the luckiest man on the Near South Side, but will his brand of building magic work in Uptown?

Wong, the developer of such successes as the 1349 South Wabash Private Residences tower in the South Loop and the Grand Imperial Hotel in Chinatown, announced today that he will replace Holsten Development as the developer of the embattled Wilson Yard project, located near Montrose Avenue and Broadway in Uptown.

"Consider Wilson Yard fixed," Wong said in a brief interview this morning. "Uptown is ready to resolve the problems it's faced with this development, and I'll walk from one Chinatown to another to make sure that happens."

Although most of Wilson Yard's retail component, anchored by an 180,000 square-foot Target department store, will remain intact, Wong says he plans to "spice up" the site with several developmental revisions, including the addition of two 40-story residential high-rises, tentatively named One Shiller Tower and One Shiller Tower West.

Wong envisions one tower comprising luxury condominiums, rental apartments, and hotel suites, and one tower devoted entirely to public housing.

"Opponents of the old Wilson Yard say it was built on a 'failed housing model' that focused solely on low-income homes. A luxury condo tower next door surely will bring balance to those concerns," he says.

In a sign of gratitude toward the buildings' namesake, he plans to offer Ald. Helen Shiller her choice of either of the buildings' top-floor penthouses, "from which she can look down on her ward as its humble guardian."

Wong has enlisted the help of veteran architects George Pappageorge and Larry Booth to design the high-rises. Citing a mutual admiration and a desire to put their stamp on what is
certain to be Uptown’s signature destination, Pappageorge and Booth issued their own joint statement promising “something special” for the neighborhood. Renderings of the buildings will be unveiled at a public meeting next week.

The normally subdued Pappageorge hinted at the team's goals in the final sentence of its memo with the following exclamation: “If you thought Chicago architecture reached its peak with the South Loop, then you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

When asked how he could afford to move forward with such large-scale changes to the Wilson Yard plans in such a stingy lending climate, Wong just laughed. "That's what TIF is for, right?"

Banners fronting Wabash Avenue in the South Loop continue to promote Eco18's pursuit of LEED Gold certification, something we can safely classify as a "long-term goal." Jameson Real Estate is still promoting the proposed 93-unit development at 1818 S Wabash Ave, going so far as to keep 16 one- and two-bedroom condos listed from the $250s to the $640s.

Meanwhile, the awning is gone and the windows are shuttered at 1420 S Michigan Ave, site of Glashaus' old sales center.

Where does this cloaked mendicant sit with her hand outstretched? Be the first to name the neighborhood and win a YoChicago yo-yo.

What are the three "best-buy 'hoods" in Chicago? According to the new real estate-centric issue of Time Out Chicago, they are:

• Andersonville: "the city’s hottest 'hood, [with] lakefront proximity, a robust commercial district brimming with independently owned businesses and good public transportation"
• Kenwood: "proximity to University of Chicago and the lake—and the prestige of sharing a zip code with the Obama family homestead—have kept prices stable"
• Roscoe Village: "balances hip and friendly, so buying a house there means you’re unlikely to get bored—or mugged"

All three have steady home prices that probably won't lose value over the long term, according to the magazine.

The magazine also recommends three areas that "have a bright future" in spite of rough times:

• East Humboldt Park: "it's a block-by-block neighborhood, but a lot of artists are moving in because it’s cheaper [than Wicker Park]"
• Bronzeville: "while there are board-ups aplenty, the nabe has good public transportation and thriving anchor businesses like Bronzeville Coffee House and Jokes and Notes"
• Portage Park: "the 'hood’s established Polish-American community doesn't tolerate crime, and the lack of multi-unit buildings means it’s not congested"

What do you think? How does Time Out's "top three" stack up against yours?

Let's kick off the return of "Name the Nabe" with an easy one: Where in Chicago can you find such ostentatious ornamentation? Be the first to name the neighborhood and win your own YoChicago yo-yo.

Bridgeport has seen plenty of new-construction condominiums over the past several years, and most of them have been confined to a small pocket around 35th Street, between Halsted and Morgan streets. Today I compiled a list of active condo buildings in Bridgeport listed in the NewHomeNotebook.com database, and found that all but two of the 10 developments are clustered around that three- or four-block area.

The intersection of 35th and Halsted streets is one of Bridgeport's most active commercial intersections. Bridgeport Condominiums, 3450 S Halsted St, has brought some new retail to the intersection, and one block north, a shiny new police station opened in December and a $15-million new public library will be added over the next year.

Of course, not all of the new developments in Bridgeport are located near 35th Street. One of the neighborhood's most significant new developments, 2500 South Halsted, is located at the northern edge of the neighborhood, and there are several townhouse and single-family home developments scattered throughout the neighborhood as well.

What's missing? Are there other new Bridgeport developments we should add to the list? Let us know.

NewHomeNotebook:
• View our list of new condos in Bridgeport

An article in today's Tribune identifies a new group that is settling (or gentrifying?) Pilsen: "muppies," or Mexican yuppies. Since Alderman Solis took office 12 years ago, the Near South Side neighborhood has seen a decent amount of new development, sparked largely by the return of the muppies, but all of that will soon be overshadowed with the construction of Renaissance Village, a massive development that is slated to bring 500 residential units and 45,000 square feet of commercial space to the neighborhood in 2011.

Although many Pilsen residents voice opposition to "gentrification," it isn't happening here en masse. Scattered, new condominium buildings are priced higher than the older buildings they replaced but are far outnumbered by houses and flats that are 80-plus years old.

"The older places are bought by muppies and yuppies who know they can get a good deal on a place and have rental income, too," says Miguel Chacon, Pilsen resident and real estate agent with Sheldon Good Brokerage in Chicago. "They grew up here or nearby. They aren't the people who won't go south of Madison [Avenue] without an armored car."

"Some people say, 'I don't want the neighborhood to change,' " says Chacon. "But then they raise their rent, which of course brings in more professional people."

Ald. Solis told the Trib that he's planning some infrastructure improvements for Pilsen, and encouraging restoration of existing buildings.

In a separate story appearing in today's Gazette, the owner of the controversial Maxwell Street hot dog stand on the corner of 18th and Halsted streets, which Solis and other neighborhood groups have opposed, has said that he would be willing to sell the site for $900,000 to $950,000.