With its proximity to Lake Michigan, Grant Park, Soldier Field, and the Loop itself, and its access to the rest of Chicago and beyond via ‘L’ and Metra tracks, two expressways and Lake Shore Drive, the South Loop was always ripe for a comeback. And over the past decade, come back it has. For the June issue of New Homes, I talked to several South Loop developers about their projects and the neighborhood.
In 2007, Midwest Real Estate Data listed more than 1,500 homes for sale in the South Loop, which is defined as the area bounded by Jackson Boulevard, Lake Michigan, and the Stevenson and Dan Ryan expressways (I-55 and I-90/94, respectively). Two-thirds of those were priced from the $200s to the $490s, although the neighborhood also saw a number of homes priced below $150,000 and above $800,000.
That range proves that the South Loop can accommodate all sorts of buyers, says Ron Shipka Sr, principal of The Enterprise Companies. He should know: Enterprise has built 3,000 homes at the super-sized Museum Park at Central Station development over the past nine years. They were tailored to meet the needs of everyone, he says – “the entry-level buyer, the move-up buyer, and the luxury buyer.”
Museum Park’s crown jewel, the 62-story One Museum Park, began closings in April and will continue at a rate of 15 to 20 units a month through the fall. Prices there ranged from the $620s to $2.7 million in May.