East Garfield Park, is it all that bad? Do you see potential? (Chicago: low income, section 8)

[beaniemac]

Originally Posted by IrishIllini

I would choose Humboldt Park over East Garfield Park. East Garfield Park's advantage over Humboldt is that the L runs through it. Humboldt Park's L line was torn down several decades ago.

I'd prefer living in bronzeville over EGP. they are both about the same distance from downtown. and bronzeville is serviced by both the red and green lines as far as commuter rail is concerned. also, bronzeville puts one in close proximity to the lakefront if you value that ammenity.

[Tonytime224]

Originally Posted by via chicago

its the second or third most violent neighborhood in a city that routinely makes headlines for extreme violent crime. do the math.



theres a chance of this happening anywhere in Chicago.

FWIW, no one is "going for a night jog" at 9PM in EGP unless theyre running from the law. i think you have a pretty naive view of the way things are on the ground. if youre actually serious about acquiring property i think its time you get off Redfin and actually walk around the neighborhoods youre interested in and make your own educated decision.

I really don't like your temperament.

[IrishIllini]

Originally Posted by beaniemac

I'd prefer living in bronzeville over EGP. they are both about the same distance from downtown. and bronzeville is serviced by both the red and green lines as far as commuter rail is concerned. also, bronzeville puts one in close proximity to the lakefront if you value that ammenity.

I agree. I almost mentioned he should look into Bronzeville.

[Tonytime224]

Thanks for the info all. I'm going to have to drive around Bronzeville. I drove around some of Humboldt Park, Pilsen (love it there). I try to do as much research as I can online and ask the locals like here what they think. So grateful to hear your insights.

[via chicago]

Originally Posted by Tonytime224

I really don't like your temperament.

you ask about buying property in a neighborhood who's weekend crime blotter looks like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=east...pwUIFA&dpr=0.9

and then are offended when someone says maybe you are naive about the realities on the ground of one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States?

hope is a good thing to have in life. but its never a good idea to invest based on emotion. do i think EGP will eventually improve? yes, but the numbers will tell you when it is. the same conversation has been taking place for 30 years. homes are still being boarded up/torn down, open air heroin markets are still a reality, and so are daily shootings. there are also some truly beautiful homes, but they are priced the way they are for a reason (and if they are truly cheap, most probably need an immense amount of work done).

[TBideon]

If Chicago had substantial gains in population like Seattle (or god willing Dallas or Houston), then East Garfield Park would likely absorb huge waves of new and "displaced" local populations.

But because the city population is somewhat stagnant, East Garfield Park would be a poor investment.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by via chicago

you ask about buying property in a neighborhood who's weekend crime blotter looks like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=east...pwUIFA&dpr=0.9

and then are offended when someone says maybe you are naive about the realities on the ground of one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States?

hope is a good thing to have in life. but its never a good idea to invest based on emotion. do i think EGP will eventually improve? yes, but the numbers will tell you when it is. the same conversation has been taking place for 30 years. homes are still being boarded up/torn down, open air heroin markets are still a reality, and so are daily shootings. there are also some truly beautiful homes, but they are priced the way they are for a reason (and if they are truly cheap, most probably need an immense amount of work done).

I love the fact that we're getting a lot of newbies interested in Chicago. I mean, yea, they seem very naïve to those of us who know the City. But without fresh faced interest from people who in the past wouldn't have considered living in an actual big city, we're going to be stagnant. It's human nature to look for bargains, and young people raised in upper middle class and affluent areas tend to be liberal and may have a hard time comprehending the dangers that are present in some of these neighborhoods until they actually experience it. We just have to tell them the facts, hopefully before they hurt themselves!

Anyway, I'd give a resounding no to EGP at this time, especially for a novice property owner. Personally, if I was looking to speculate and didn't mind a little grit, I'd look just west of Pilsen into Little Village. Little Village is much safer than the parts of Humboldt Park where you're still going to find bargains, and it's much more convenient to the Loop via the Pink Line and Ogden Ave.

It's not a neighborhood which gets a lot of attention but I see it as a dark horse in the coming years. I'm seeing a lot of hipster-types moving west into Little Village as they get priced out of Pilsen. Judging by what's going on in Pilsen, I have no reason to think that won't continue. And that may accelerate even more if the area around Douglas Park improves due to Lagunitas and Riot Fest.

[Alacran]

White people keep moving into latino hoods.
But avoid black hoods.
Gentrifieing and destroying our culture. Smh.


Anyway. The far east side of east garfield park (western ave) is doable.
And you might want to do your buisness(running) east of that eastern part.
It is better than before and i notice the transition from bad to okay is quick.

I do know whites who moved in east of the park itself.
So it is happening.

[BRU67]

Originally Posted by urbanchillage

You would think East Garfield Park is safer than it is (it's really not). I find it interesting that it is where they filmed the exterior scenes for the HBO series Shameless; anytime there would be a scene of someone taking the L it was at the Kedzie Green Line, for example. As someone else said, probably not in the next 10 years but after that it could be quite possible. Maybe if you plan to just rent out all 3 units and hold on to the property for 20 years it could be a very keen investment.

Bronzeville has already changed so much and can be pricey but I believe it still offers excellent growth opportunities. A lot of space and great amenities, as near downtown and the lakefront as it gets and the city has already invested a lot into the area. Commercially it is developing very nicely as well.

As my grampy once said, "if you can't see it, then don't buy it." I don't think it'd be wise to buy a property thinking that at the end of a 10 year window there's suddenly going to be some kind of presently unforeseeable gentrification. Chicago's economy would have to literally explode due to some major event (such as what happened in San Francisco during the dot.com boom) before EGP would even have a chance. It's too violent and has too much poverty and drug dealings. It's also not great looking even though it has some nice grey stones because it has so many vacant lots and boarded up houses and buildings.

[EddieOlSkool]

First off, if the western address is greater than 2400, stay away if it's south of Augusta. Some would say south of Division is the dividing line. Generally the further West you go past Western Ave it gets bad until you reach Oak Park when you're south of Augusta.

"Homan" anything shouldn't be in your radar. Kimball is fine. Homan is a very different story. Growing up on the West Side we didn't wander to Homan as kids. Just...don't.

The West Side is slowly making a change but not there. Humboldt Park is on the up and up. Garfield Park and Austin are not. Forget Lawndale anything. Heck if you're gonna live west of Western don't do it anywhere south of Augusta unless it's past 87th street