Chicago’s Southwest Side has for decades been home to people who worked hard for what they had. It is the heart of the southern half of the city’s Bungalow Belt.
But the stress of racial and ethnic change in many parts of the area threatened to wear down what was built by working- and middle-class immigrants and their sons and daughters, many of whom moved to suburbs like Lemont, Homer Glen and Plainfield as Hispanics and African-Americans moved into neighborhoods like Chicago Lawn, Gage Park and Ashburn.
But civic leaders, many businesses, and old and new residents alike have worked hard to keep what the Southwest Side offered — and expand on it.
With the CTA’s Orange Line from downtown to Midway Airport, proximity to expressways and good housing stock, the area had a good foundation.
Home prices, which rose steadily in most areas over the years, now are climbing at a faster pace. And, with that appreciation has come another kind of appreciation — by home seekers priced out of North Side neighborhoods and suburbs, and by residential developers, who see business opportunity.
Among those developers is James McNaughton Builders. Why would a company better known for building expensive houses in the suburbs try out the Southwest Side in its first foray into the city?
“More or less we were looking for new opportunities,” said Ryan McNaughton, manager of sales and construction. “We have generally worked in west and southwest suburbs. We were interested in diversifying the products we offer, and the [Southwest Side] venture provided different products.”
The McNaughton development, called McKinley Park Manor, consists of 20 town homes and 16 single families. Did they sell?
In a recent interview, Ryan McNaughton said that one single-family — with three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths — is left and is priced at $454,000. Seven 3-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath town homes were still available, priced from $342,500.
“Single-families tend to be oriented toward younger families,” he said, while town homes have been bought by young families and singles.
“A lot [of the buyers] are from the South Side, looking for new construction,” McNaughton said. Sixty to 70 percent of those don’t live far from the development at Pershing Road and Paulina Street, near its namesake McKinley Park but in the community officially dubbed New City.
McNaughton said the company is eyeing other projects and negotiating for more land, including space for the second phase of McKinkley Park Manor.
Neighboring Bridgeport has seen considerable new construction and redevelopment in recent years, but other areas of the Southwest Side are now getting their share.
Among those projects announced this year:
– A $70 million development of up to 250 housing units at 51st Street and Lawndale Avenue in the West Elsdon community;
– A 233-unit seniors complex on the site where Kool-Aid was once made — 2601 W. 74th St., in Chicago Lawn;
– A development of 140 townhouses and 96 condominiums at 36th Street and Western Avenue in Brighton Park; and
– A 69-townhouse project in McKinley Park.
Bellinger Cottage, revisited
Last week’s Market column erroneously reported that the historic Bellinger Cottage at 2121 N. Hudson Ave. in the Lincoln Park neighborhood was not protected from demolition. (A correction ran in Wednesday’s Tribune.) However, the two-bedroom house for sale for $1.6 million is going to be around for a long time.
Because it is in the Mid-North Historic District and is a so-called contributing structure, it does not need individual protection and cannot be demolished, according to city officials and many friends of preservation who called and e-mailed their dismay and pointed out the errors.
One especially thoughtful reader pointed out that there are, however, many remarkable and historic properties just outside the boundaries of the protected district that could be torn down.
In the Oct. 2 column, the comments of David Bahlman, president of the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, were made without the knowledge that the house was in a city landmark district. His remarks reflected the status of a property deemed historic but not located in a city landmark district.
But he pointed out that being listed on the National Register of Historic Places does not protect a building from demolition.
What is protected, and how, is a source of confusion to many, according to Bahlman. And, unfortunately, many people think buildings are protected when they actually aren’t.
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Wayne Faulkner is editor of Real Estate. You can contact him at wfaulkner@tribune.com or write to him at Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.
