We’ve been scanning the apartment postings on Craigslist to see what you’ll get for your money if you’re renting in Pilsen. Not surprisingly, rents we’ve seen tend to be cheaper than some of the other areas we’ve looked at recently, like the North Side, Lincoln Park and the South Loop. You can get a one-bedroom apartment at 1707 S Racine Ave (pictured) for only $590 a month, but the place only has 450 square feet. A three-bedroom apartment in the same building rents for $850, but the bedrooms in the 800-square-foot unit are awfully small: one is nine feet by nine feet and the other two are eight by eight.
A three-bedroom unit at Damen Avenue and 23rd Street rents for $775, so we’re suspecting the bedrooms there are also quite small. The “recently updated” three-bedroom at Halsted and 19th streets is actually described as “small,” and that one rents for $895. On the higher end, there’s a “newly remodeled” three-bedroom at 1602 S Allport St with exposed brick and track lighting. The rent there is $1,100.
At 18th and Bishop streets, a two-bedroom loft (pictured left) rents for $1,295. The unit has a private deck, and there’s a World Gym in the building. Finally, we found a one-bedroom loft with timber ceilings at the new Chantico Lofts development, located at 1061 W 16th St. The unit has never been lived in, and it’s not available until after Christmas. Rent is $1,200 and includes parking. Purchase prices at Chantico range from the $260s to the $390s.