Ukrainian Village - Chicago Association of REALTORS

Ukrainian
Village
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
By Meredith A. Morris
Senior Communications Specialist,
Chicago Association of REALTORS®
Whether your client seeks a timeless, traditional neighborhood or a hot spot that’s nearly
as visible as Lincoln Park or Lakeview, Ukrainian Village may be the answer. Part of
Chicago’s West Town community, along with Wicker Park, Noble Square and Eckhart
Park, Ukrainian Village is where old meets new. Think hipsters riding vintage bicycles.
BoundedbyDivisionStreetandGrand,WesternandDamenavenues,
UkrainianVillageisa“shiftingneighborhoodwhereUkrainian
immigrantsandtheirculturemeetwiththeartsysideofgeneration
hip-hop,”accordingtothe Chicago Sun-Times.
Itis“busyontheoutside,quietintheinside,”saidChicagoREALTOR®
BrianEby,agreeingwithamemorabledescriptionhe’sread.Eby,of
ArroyoProperties,Inc.,livesintheneighborhood,wherehehasalso
workedforeightyears.HevaluesUkrainianVillage“asanislandof
stability”withinChicago’sever-changingurbanlandscape.
“It’slikeatimewarp,”hesaid.“It’stimeless.Youhavebeautifulstreets,
maturetreesandalotofsidewalkactivity.Peopleknoweachother’snames
whentheyarewalkingtheirdogs.Onweekends,familieswhohavebeen
thereforgenerationsweartheirSundaybesttochurch.”
Ebyworksmostfrequentlywithyoung“hipsters”drawnbythe
neighborhood’saffordablerentalstockorfamilieshopingtobuydetached
homesortwo-orthree-flatswheretheycanliveandserveaslandlords.
Ontheotherhand,TeresaMcCauley-Coleman,aBrokerAssociatewith
CityNetrealestate,inc.,workswithmanynewcomersenticedtotheareaby
itsaffordablerealestateandconvenientlocation.McCauley-Coleman,who
hasbeenintherealestateindustryfor23yearsandlivesnearbyinWest
Town,saidhertypicalclientisaprofessionalmovingfromLincolnParkor
Lakeviewandlookingforacondo,appreciativeoftheneighborhood’seasy
accesstotheLoop(aboutnineminutesbyBlueLine),O’Hare(about25
minutesbyBlueLine),Interstates290and55,and90-94.
“Iamseeingpeoplewhoknowtheareaandknowtheywanttobethere,”
McCauley-Colemansaid.“Theywanttobeneartherestaurantsand
otherplacesthatfittheirlifestyle.”
S h if ti ng D em og raphi cs
Demographicallytheneighborhoodhaschangedsignificantlyinthepast
decade,evenifthechangeisn’tfeltinUkrainianVillage’sOldWorld
heart.Inadditiontoarelativelyrecentinfluxofhipstersandyoung
professionals,thearrivalofmoreHispanicshasalsoalteredthearea’s
profileandbroughtanarrayofnewmarkets,restaurantandstores.
AccordingtotheonlineUrbanMappingresource,thepopulationof
UkrainianVillageismorethanone-thirdHispanicandmorethanonethirdwhite,leavingallotherracesintheminority.
McCauley-Colemanbelievestheneighborhoodhaschangedradicallysince
shestartedsellinghomestherein2001,recallingwhenherclientstendedto
perceiveUkrainianVillageas“alittlerougharoundtheedges.”
Then,McCauley-Colemanencouragedprospectivebuyerstotakefaithin
theexplosionofnewandexpandingrestaurantsandotherbusinesseson
DivisionStreetandelsewhereintheneighborhood.Theywere“asignof
economicstabilityandgrowth,”shesaid,adding,“Inolongerneedto
explainthisarea.It’sspeakingforitself,overthepasteightyears.”
Buyerstodayfindmoredevelopment,includingrehabsandcondos,inthe
neighborhoodsouthofChicagoAvenue.
Time le ss St re ets
NorthofChicagoAvenue,thetranquilneighborhoodfeelingthatattracts
EbytoUkrainianVillage’sresidentialstreetshasnotchangedmuch,
however.Forthatreason,Ebyspeculatesthata“disproportionate”number
ofpropertysales,ortransfers,withintheneighborhoodareamongfamilies
andneverseeaREALTOR®ortheMLS.
33 www.ChicagoREALTOR.com
Ukrainian Village
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Inside of Kasia’s Polish Deli
Kasia’s owner Kasia Bober (right) and staff
“Therearehomesthathavebeeninfamilies,orclosefriendlygroups,for
generations.Whilethehomesarewell-constructedandnotinexpensive,
youaren’tgoingtoseeanythingflashyorpretentious,”hesaid.“Froma
realestatestandpoint,whetheryou’reanowner,buyerorinvestor,I’dsay
it’sasolid,low-riskinvestment.Thecoreoftheneighborhoodisnotgoing
tochangemuch.Youcanseegenerationswalkingdownthestreettogether.
Therearen’tmanyplaceswhereyoucanseethat.”
Nei g h b o r h o o d H i s t o r y
EvenifyouhavenevervisitedUkrainianVillageyou’veprobablyseenit
fromtheexpressway,markedbygorgeousdomesofEasternEuropean
Orthodoxcathedralsvisiblefrom90-94.OrnatechurchesincludeSS.
VolodymyrandOlha,St.NicholasUkrainianCatholicCathedraland
HolyTrinityOrthodoxCathedral,designedbyLouisSullivan.
UkrainianVillagewasdevelopedbyGermanimmigrantswhosettled
thereinthewakeofthefireof1871,accordingtotheEncyclopediaof
Chicago,aprojectoftheChicagoHistoryMuseum,NewberryLibrary
andNorthwesternUniversity.Yetaftertheneighborhood’sfirstwaveof
UkrainianandRussianimmigration,from1880to1910,Ukrainians
outnumberedotherethnicgroups.By1930,estimatesplacedtheChicago
Ukrainianpopulationbetween25,000and30,000andthemajorityresided
withinthissmallarea.
Letizia’s Natural Bakery
alsoincludesportionsofDamen,Hoyne,OakleyandLeavittAvenues
designatedaChicagoLandmarkin2002.TheDistrictfeaturesanexcellent
cross-sectionofresidentialbuildingtypesdatingfrom1886tothe1920s.
DescribedbytheCityofChicagoasanimportantresidentialstreetscape
andextremelywell-preservedcollectionofworkerscottages,theDistrict
holdstwo-andthree-flats,singlefamilyhomesandlargeapartment
buildings.
“EastVillage,”UkrainianVillage’seastedge,fromWesterntoAshland
withinthenorthandsouthboardersofDivisionandGrand,wasoriginally
knownas“EastUkrainianVillage.”
Ukrainian Vil l age Tod ay
AccordingtoUrbanMapping,UkrainianVillagehasslightlymoremales
thanfemalesandanaverageageofabout31,onparwiththeChicago
average.About30percentofhouseholdsintheneighborhoodaremarried
couplefamilies,andofthoseabout60percentarefamiliesinwhichboth
adultsareworking.
McCauley-Colemancitestwofactorsasveryimportantindevelopingthe
area’stexture.FirstistheCityofChicago’sdecisionmorethannineyears
agotomoveitsadministrativeofficestothe1600blockofChicagoAvenue.
Theadditionmeanscityemployeesareeating
andshoppinglocallyduringthedayandhave
What’s selling in...
West Town/Ukrainian Village? beenaboontonearbybusinesses.
Originally,UkrainianVillagewasa
predominatelyworking-classneighborhood
FastSTATS fourth quarter 2009 (8024)
populatedbycraftsmenhiredtobuildthe
Second,theLaSalleLanguageAcademyIIhas
Attached Single Family Detached Single Family
mansionsoftheirwealthyWickerParkneighbors, Units: 231
openedatDivisionandHonorestreetsandwill
Units: 37
accordingtoWikipedia.Today,theneighborhood Median Price: $333,000 Median Price: $650,000
beinfulloperationforthe2010-11schoolyear.
Check out neighborhood stats for all 77 Chicagoland
stillhousesabout10,000ethnicUkrainians,
AChicagopublicmagnetschool,McCauleyneighborhoods at www.ChicagoREALTOR.com.
althoughgentrificationischangingthe
Colemansaysitisasignificantenticementfor
FastSTATS consists of average sales price, median sales price, market
time, units sold and percent change for Chicago and the suburbs.
demographic.AlongwithafairlynewDominick’s
families.
marketandStarbucks,localdestinationsinclude
theUkrainianInstituteofModernArt,theUkrainianNational
“Mydaughteris14-months-oldanditisabigconsiderationformetostay
Museum,andtheUkrainianCulturalCenter.
inthisarea,”shesaid.
TheUkrainianVillageDistrict,surroundedbyHaddonAvenue,
ThomasStreetandCortezStreetbetweenDamenandLeavittAvenues,
Chicago REALTOR Magazine
®
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Indeed,therearealotoffamilies.Ebyenjoysthenumeroussummerfestivals
hostedbychurchesinthearea,whichhassaysaretruefamilyevents.
Ukrainian Village
WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD
UV Housing
“That’swhenyouseehowmanykidstherereallyareintheneighborhood.
It’saveryOldWorldcommunity,”hesaid.
Nei g h b o r h o o d F a vo r it e s
EbyandMcCauley-Colemanciteanumberoffavoriterestaurantsand
otherbusinessdestinations,knownfortheirqualityandlongevityifnot
trendyappeal.Amongthem:
Chic a g o A v en u e :
• Alcala’s Western Wear,lookforthehugehorsestatueoutside,
1733 W. Chicago
• Atomix,caféwithveganoptions,1957 W. Chicago
• Chickpea,MiddleEasterncafé,2018 W. Chicago
• Darkroom,along-standingfavoritebarfordeejaysandlivemusic,
2210 W. Chicago
• Hoosier Mama Pie Company,piesandcakesadoredby
Indianatransplantsandothers,1618 W. Chicago
• Kasia’s Polish Deli,withpiroguesvotedChicago’sBestand
enjoyedbyPresidentClinton,GovernorEdgarandSenator
Simon,alsovisitedbyMarthaStewart,2101 W. Chicago
• Old Oak Tap,acomfortablebar-restaurant, 2109 W. Chicago
• Tumans,neighborhoodtavern,2159 W. Chicago
• Windy City Supermercado,smallmarketwithfreshguacamole
andhomemadesalsadaily,Chicago at Wood St.
Authentic signage
Old Oak Tap
Ot he r:
• Bar DeVille,tavernwithagreatjukebox,1958 W. Huron St.
• Empty Bottle,along-timefavoritebarforlivemusic,
1035 N. Western Ave.
• Fiore’s Domestic Import Deli,afamily-ownedItaliandeli
withgreatpepperandeggsandwiches,2258 W Erie St.
Brian Eby, REALTOR® with Arroyo Properties, Inc. (312) 927-1893 or
[email protected].
Vol u m e 19 | Spr i n g 2010
Teresa McCauley-Coleman, Broker Associate with
CityNet real estate, inc. [email protected] or
(773) 505-7022.
Neighborhood photos by Kali Loader of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral
Divis i o n S t r e e t :
Adobo Grill –restaurant,2005 W. Division
Folklore,Argentinegrill,2100 W. Division
Letizia’s Natural Bakery,coffeeshop,2144 W. Division
Pizza Metro,1707 W. Division
Milk and Honey,caféandbakery,itsgranolaissoldatWhole
Foodsstores,1922 W. Division
• Smoke Daddy's,barbecueandlivemusicvenue,
1804 W. Division St.
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35 www.ChicagoREALTOR.com