Entrances set back from the street: friend or foe?

We’re partial to vintage multi-unit buildings like this one, at 4838 N Ashland Ave, with long pathways leading to the rear units. Especially on busy streets like Ashland, to have a doorway set back from the main thoroughfare seems like an advantage. It’s a little greener and quieter back there. But we can get a little creeped out walking down those narrow paths at night, even if they’re well lit. Are we being a tad paranoid, do you think, or is our nervousness justified?

The building has 18 two- or three-bedroom condos with granite counterops, oak floors, stainless steel appliances and some exposed brick. Azarina Zayere-Cerkic of RE/MAX NorthCoast has the units priced from the $220s to the $290s.