Chatham’s diverse single-family home stock of well-kept bungalows, step ranches, Georgians and other styles has great appeal to young families, single women, and single women with one or more children, says Cynthia Draper-Hill, an associate broker at Betts Realty Group and long-time Chatham resident.
“Single guys are not really, as a rule, interested in that particular type of housing. A lot of young men tend to be more attracted to new construction or the condo market,” Draper-Hill said in a phone interview Friday.
The large population of senior citizens in Chatham is transitioning to senior homes or condos, she added.
Buyers in the Chatham area are rarely former residents who are returning to the neighborhood, Draper-Hill remarked, in contrast to the testimony of Christine Frizzelle, the sales manager at the new single-family home development Chatham Crossing, whom we spoke to earlier this week.
In Draper-Hill’s experience, these buyers are typically people from other parts of the South Side who are lured by the community’s high reputation for stability.
Another draw is that lot sizes are frequently much larger than those available in other parts of the city, she commented.
Condo conversions are a growing phenomenon in the area, as well. “Many are in East Chatham, on the [eastern] side of Cottage Grove,” Draper-Hill pointed out.
Chatham’s growing commercial development, marked by an increasingly diverse retail mix, is really a by-product of the community’s solid middle-class, which has great appeal to retailers, Draper-Hill said.
Both Draper-Hill and Alisha Goins, the bookstore manager we interviewed earlier in the week, cited the influence of 21st Ward Alderman Howard Brookins as a key component in bringing such companies as Best Buy, Staples and Lowe’s to the neighborhood. The 21st Ward includes West Chatham.
Perhaps ironically, Brookins’ City Council seat is in jeopardy, as he faces a run-off next month against challenger Leroy Jones. Jones was backed by unions that opposed Brookins “No” vote on the “Big Box” ordinance. The ordinance was eventually vetoed by Mayor Richard M. Daley.