We’re taking a brief look at the state of each of the eight neighborhoods we spotlighted as Chicago’s hottest back in June of 2006. We’ve already revisited Woodlawn, Washington Park, Avondale, Near South Side and South Chicago.
Today we return to the Near West Side. Our reporter noted that:
West of Ashland Avenue buyers can find new homes priced from $250 to $275 per square foot, compared to an average of $350 per square foot in the West Loop … Yes, there are fewer restaurants west of Ashland, but the area is still close to the Loop, public transportation and the expressways.
Mixed-income communities such as Jackson Square at West End, 300 S. Western, are offering competitive prices for market-rate homes on former public housing sites and improving the neighborhood. Condos at Jackson Square were priced from the low $200s, and single-family homes were priced in the high $400s, at press time.
Well, those “competitive prices” have become far more competitive over the past 5 years. Try $55 a square foot for Unit 2 at 342 S Western Ave in the Jackson Square at West End development.
The unit, which is bank-owned, last sold for $272,175 in December of 2007. It came on the market in February at a list price of $129,900 and has been repeatedly reduced to $64,900. That sort of price plunge has been common in the larger-scale Near West developments.
Joe Askins and Mark Boyer drove through “Chicago’s revitalized West Side” two years ago, in the above video, and could barely contain their snickers as they read the brochure copy for the development: “An exciting opportunity to invest in one of Chicago’s hottest neighborhoods. An investment you will appreciate as it appreciates.” Four years ago another of our writers visited the development and shot this video: