Chevanston Blog. (Chicago/Evanston Border area) (Manhattan, Sheridan: hotel, neighborhood, subdivision)

[xavier xerxes]

^^ True Chi town Native,
Also its funny when I google image chevanston I get
results for Chevanton a soccer player from Uruguay.



Also @Chet Everett, there is actually a seismic shift going on in Chicago.
Alot of Gays/Lesbians are increasingly finding Lakeview to be TOO expensive
and same goes for Edgewater to a lesser extent and they are moving
to Rogers Park and Uptown. Alot of them are just bypassing Lakeview and Edgewater
now because of the cheaper rent. I have noticed alot of new faces around Morse
and even further north in Rogers Park lately.

So thats what sets Rogers Park/South Evanston apart from all those other
neighborhoods and their boosters. The larger gay/lesbian community shift going on,
Pritzker's huge amount of local investment, Loyola's rise as a private college, The
beautiful lakefront of Rogers Park and South Evanston. Also the close proximity to
Downtown Evanston and Edgewater and short ride down south to Wrigley Field on the EL.
(I based my decision to live in Rogers Park heavily on that last one)

[chet everett]

Right -- J. B. Pritzker on New World Ventures, the Pritzker Group, and More - Chicago magazine - September 2010 - Chicago

"What was I thinking" indeed... Tremors in the Empire - Chicago magazine - December 2002 - Chicago

Originally Posted by xavier xerxes

@chet everett.
Well the hipsters have just discovered Rogers Park. However I do not envision hipsters as the FUTURE of Rogers Park.
I know that this is often the line taken on city data forum. Which is okay. On Skyscrapercity Forum or Skyscrapercitypage
or chicago curbed, its MORE development driven and pro city. All we are talking about here are opinions, ofcourse.

Putting generational money into a region is HUGE. There arent alot of people with a BILLION dollars (pritzker), so that just a little more than someones Grand Pappy putting money into a region.

People went overboard with Real Estate obviously and so now people are OVERLY pessimisitic about it, people, people, we are so emotional, which is why business and finance and real estate et. al. are subject to human emotion. But taking a cold calculated eye and looking over the long term, one would have to be blind to not see that CAR BASED living is just not where the future is. So I disagree with you about "seismic shifts", I think there are major shifts happening and slowly over time.

I am not chasing an elusive creature.
People have to invest when prices are low and the naysayers have the day. And to beware when people are going overboard with their wild speculations. I did not found this blog to try to get people to buy real estate, thats up to them,
its a blog that I am using to point out community problems (like trash/graffiti) and point out solutions (take care of your area like restoring fire hydrants) and point out the new things going on and just for fun.

Also those other neighborhoods you mention Chet arent on the Lake Front and arent inbetween Evanston downtown and Edgewater, and they dont have the beach that Rogers Park has. Thats what puts Rogers Park into a category of its own.

[xavier xerxes]

Chet Everett said "Right -- J. B. Pritzker on New World Ventures, the Pritzker Group, and More - Chicago magazine - September 2010 - Chicago

"What was I thinking" indeed... Tremors in the Empire - Chicago magazine - December 2002 - Chicago"

This is what I was thinking about
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.co...-evanston-home

Pritzker, 3 others interested in city-owned mansion | Evanston Now

James Pritzker to restore and open to overnight guests Frank Lloyd Wright's Emil Bach House - Chicago Tribune

[chet everett]

I hope it works out.

Looks like they have about five years of experience with multi-family. I wonder what their books look like and what sort of long term strategy they have. http://www.rpvmhome.com/pdf/2008-tenant-newsletter.pdf

Good Luck.

[xavier xerxes]

Luck has nothing to do with it. Thanks anyway Chet, I always like discussing with the
Devils Advocate Im not with RPVM anyways, just listing off the Pritzker's assets in Rogers Park.
Have you spent much time in Rogers Park? Just wondering.

[chet everett]

I have a coworker that lives in one of the older multi-family homes up there. My sister went to Loyola several years ago. I am familiar with the challenges and potential of the area. I've seen lots of efforts of developers stall out and some do OK too.

The reality is that even extraordinarily well financed developers do run into things that money can't solve. People are mortal. I would never wish anything bad to happen Col. Pritzker but freak incidents (look up Lee Miglin...) can bring a screeching halt to development efforts. Beyond the tremendous weight that such a guy that shoulders the fact is there are hordes of people that have been gentrified out of neighborhoods from River North to Wicker Park to Logan Square to Lakeview to West Lincoln Park / DePaul to Uptown to Rogers Park. The sad fact is that there is an enormous gap between what people with moderate incomes can afford and the expected rates of return that force landlords to raise rents. Given the relatively narrow radius that CTA Rapid Transit serves I can lots of people being very unhappy to be squeezed west ward into parts of Chicago with tougher transit options and a whole lot of backlash from a wide range of people for whom the current patterns work well...

If you don't think luck has anything to do with success in real estate you have a lot to learn.

[xavier xerxes]

Originally Posted by chet everett

I have a coworker that lives in one of the older multi-family homes up there. My sister went to Loyola several years ago. I am familiar with the challenges and potential of the area. I've seen lots of efforts of developers stall out and some do OK too.

The reality is that even extraordinarily well financed developers do run into things that money can't solve. People are mortal. I would never wish anything bad to happen Col. Pritzker but freak incidents (look up Lee Miglin...) can bring a screeching halt to development efforts. Beyond the tremendous weight that such a guy that shoulders the fact is there are hordes of people that have been gentrified out of neighborhoods from River North to Wicker Park to Logan Square to Lakeview to West Lincoln Park / DePaul to Uptown to Rogers Park. The sad fact is that there is an enormous gap between what people with moderate incomes can afford and the expected rates of return that force landlords to raise rents. Given the relatively narrow radius that CTA Rapid Transit serves I can lots of people being very unhappy to be squeezed west ward into parts of Chicago with tougher transit options and a whole lot of backlash from a wide range of people for whom the current patterns work well...

If you don't think luck has anything to do with success in real estate you have a lot to learn.

Some luck may be involved, but there are larger market forces at work as well.
Location, Location, Location is the most important thing in real estate, if you dont know that by now
then you have much to learn as well. Real estate is a LONG TERM investment and is not a get rich quick scheme and the long term outlook for both areas is quite good. To think that somehow Rogers Park and South Evanston are going to be very affordable forever is also quite foolish as well. Owning Real estate is a hedge against future increases in value. So in that way I am pessimisitic and why I only feel comfortable with a decent investment where market forces are obvious.

People may be unhappy being squeezed westwards by market forces but hey thats what owning a condo or building protects against. What backlash are you speaking of Chet?

I do think that as time marches on Chicago does need to extend its EL lines to other neighborhoods, thats one reason New York City is doing better because its subway system is so extensive. People like living by the EL for obvious reasons.

Neighborhoods change over time, what is worse disinvestment or reinvestment?
There are always neighborhoods and suburbs improving, holding their ground or getting worse.
Is that a sad fact or is that just a fact of life? One would think that realizing this fact
it would be smart to invest in an area that is improving and leave one that was getting worse.
Because someone lives in a neighborhood doesnt mean they have a right to stay in that
place forever no matter what, right or wrong, which is why hedging against future evaluations
would be smart if possible.

[ToriaT]

I spent some time in that neighborhood many decades ago and I think it has a lot of potential. One of the few areas where you can actually live with the lake at the end of the block and a beach. You can not get that just anywhere. There are lots of beautiful old buildings in the area with massive apartments. Only bad thing is besides the area has other problems is that it takes quite a bit of time to get downtown.

[Chi-town Native]

Pritzker is buying/rehabbing 1337 W. Fargo, a 13 story, 90+ unit building into higher end rental stock. That's a big investment.

[xavier xerxes]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Pritzker is buying/rehabbing 1337 W. Fargo, a 13 story, 90+ unit building into higher end rental stock. That's a big investment.

Thats the Farcroft. Which is extremely close to his FLW and his B and B Cats Cradle.
Yes, thats why I see alot of good things happening for Rogers Park, its not pie in the sky wishful thinking. Thats a HUGE BUILDING.

Seismic Shifts? One is alot of people dont want to buy right now as Chet has said about being pessimisitic about real esate alot of people are renting and alot of people are using public transportation.
So I forsee alot more positive foot traffic to and fro from the Howard El stop and Jarvis El stop with such large apartment buildings turning over as they are turning over in Uptown.