Tuesday, August 13, 2013

A Whole Block?

This is rather dizzying:

Lake View Patch reports that the owner of nearly all the buildings on the 3800 block of Broadway (on the side across the street from the Chateau) is asking to uniformly zone all the buildings on that stretch, with an eye to redeveloping the entire block.  His name may be familiar:  Dave Gassman, who recently bought the building where Hull House used to be, and plans to return it to residential property.

So just a block or two outside of Uptown:
Some of these will undoubtedly fizzle, but things are starting to happen again, both inside Uptown's borders and in the surrounding areas.  Exciting times.

8 comments:

  1. For the past 5 years, I have been hoping for a similar announcement for the east side of the 4600 block of Broadway.

    I would love to see someone dream big and make it happen.

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  2. I don't want any residential (rental) properties if it means rents will go sky-high, which is what these developers will do. Was talking to a neighbor and it seems that Horizon Realty having developed a couple of nearby properties have fallen short of full occupancy in its buildings. Where do these developers think people have $1000-1300 to pay for a one bedroom?

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  3. Lianna, the rents will be what the market will bear or the units remain empty and the developer loses money. I'm not a developer but it's my guess that given how hard it is to get a loan these days, they deserve some credit for any market studies they do.

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  4. Lianna, they're not forcing you to move into them, are they? There's a cap on how much your rent will go up if you have a lease, so it's not going to jump 50% next time you renew your lease, especially because of something happening on the 3800 block of Broadway. Face it, Uptown is diverse in many ways, including economically. Some people can afford to pay $1000 to $1300 each month as a mortgage or as rent. Just because they can, doesn't mean every place will cost that much. Your knee-jerk reaction is against change and development and it makes me wonder why.

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  5. Liana = a former Shiller office worker

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  6. Lianna,
    I work in the apartment industry, and $1000-$1300 for a market rate one bedroom is a great deal right now, especially for a gut rehab, like what Flats Chicago is offering. Occupancies are at record highs and most communities have lengthy waiting lists of renters trying to get in. They are raising their rents and getting what they're asking. It's all about supply and demand, and there are more people looking to rent at this price than there are units available, so I don't see it going down any time soon...

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  7. Seriously, it is difficult to find a desirable one bedroom for under $1500 east of Ashland. It is easier/cheaper to rent a two bedroom.

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  8. I would like to live in the Gold Coast, but I don't because I cannot afford it. There is a whole big city out there besides Uptown where one can live. And Brown Lines and Pink Lines and Blue Lines and Red Lines on the Southside...to take you to wherever you need to go... just a thought

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