West Town Illinois Real Estate

West Town, Illinois is actually a community of neighborhoods within Chicago, Illinois. Wicker Park, East Village, Humboldt Park and Ukrainian Village are a few of the old Chicago districts that have been melded into the West Town Community Park. West Town is currently experiencing a renaissance of economic, educational and real estate vitality.

Only ten minutes from downtown Chicago this area offers a quintessentially American melting pot of ethnic traditions. Two thirds of the population is Latino. The remaining residents are mostly Ukrainian, Polish, Italian and African American. This cultural diversity has yielded a rich blend of restaurant cuisines, retail establishments and residential choices. The resulting vintage neighborhoods have lured young professionals and, increasingly, families back into a previously blighted area. Real estate values and entrepreneurial opportunities have surged. This revitalization has also brought new financial vigor to the longtime residents of West Town.

The entire district benefits from being part of the nationwide Special Service Area (SSA) program. This agenda encourages financial development and local control of services. City sectors receiving this special designation must maintain strict standards of cleanliness and economic viability.

Within the West Town latticework, each neighborhood maintains a distinctive character.

Wicker Park has developed a reputation as a trendy location full of great restaurants and cutting edge entertainment. Its retail runs the gamut from fashion forward shops through to stores full of antique furniture. Homes in Wicker Park include historically protected Gothic and Romanesque structures as well as contemporary lofts and condominiums.

The East Village has retained much of its early charm and added to it. Many of the homes here are rehabilitated two and three bedroom flats. A large number of homes here remain reasonably priced. There are also vast possibilities for buying older properties below market value and rejuvenating them.

Humboldt Park is an energetic mix of mostly Latin and African American influences. While many of its late nineteenth century homes have been kept intact some are being razed and replaced by modern buildings. Single family homes are available but multi-family residences are largely the rule. Prices in the area have risen as old time residents and newcomers alike have realized the value of faithfully rehabbing the existing houses.

Ukrainian Village boasts an eclectic range of delectable Polish food alongside more unconventional coffee house fare. Many of the houses in Ukrainian Village are the original structures designed and built by William D. Kerfoot in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. This community has gone out of its way to protect and preserve its architectural heritage. Even new homes constructed in Ukrainian Village are encouraged to be of a design consistent with the existing dwellings. Reasonable and even below market real estate can still be found in this growing market.

All over West Town there are continuing efforts to provide quality, affordable housing for the elderly and for the original inhabitants of the area.

All in all, the many different neighborhoods that form West Town, Illinois offer the adventurous home shopper not only value but a stake in a rebounding community as well.