It’s a Beautiful Day in Avondale

_{The Corner Project in Avondale. Photo edited from the original. By bunnicula via Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0.}

In this series of blog posts, we’ll be providing a summary of the neighborhoods where we’re currently listing and developing homes.

Once-sleepy Avondale had one of the hottest real estate markets in Chicago in 2015 and was named one of America’s top 10 neighborhoods to visit by Lonely Planet in late 2017. All for good reason. The neighborhood is adjacent to both the craft cocktails joints of Logan Square and the pilates studios of Roscoe Village. In the heart of Avondale, Elston Avenue’s restaurant row is almost too popular. The proximity of both the Blue Line and Kennedy Expressway enables a trip to The Loop or to O’Hare International Airport in about thirty minutes door-to-door. There’s a lot to love and discover in this neighborhood, so let’s see what’s beautiful in Avondale.

Entertainment and Eating

_{Photo by Quinn Dombrowski via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.}

As mentioned above, affordability and abundant transportation have helped Elston Avenue become an emerging dining strip. From Korean fusion to Heavy Metal burger joints, Avondale has diverse and rather affordable options for the curious and the penurious. Amidst the new and hip, a few classic joints dot the neighborhood. Chief O’Neills has been serving up a massive Sunday brunch buffet since the 1990s, which is particularly wonderful in the warmer months when the sprawling back patio is open. And Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church, built in 1892, is an icon on the neighborhood’s east end. This once unremarkable landing ground for generations of immigrants is no longer just seeing development because of its proximity to other “fun” neighborhoods. Avondale has become a destination itself.

The Numbers

A typical commute to The Loop by rail from Avondale is thirty-six minutes, door to door. To O’Hare Airport, it’s also thirty-six minutes. The neighborhood’s biggest park is five-acre Brands Park, and the Chicago River Walk and fifty-five acre Horner Park border Avondale on its east side. The average walk score is 84 (very walkable) and the bike score is 77. As busy as the Avondale real estate market has become, home prices in Avondale are projected to increase slower in the next year than this past year, according to Zillow, with a 2.1% one-year forecast increase vs. this past year’s documented 5.1% increase. Those numbers are more or less in-line with slower projected price growth for the whole U.S. real estate market. In spite of price increases, the median home price in Avondale is still considerably cheaper than nearby North Center, by 29%. However, the neighborhood’s home prices have recently become more or less in line with neighboring Irving Park and Roscoe Village.

A Bit of History

_{Avondale School just at the end of construction, in 1897. This school still stands at Wellington and Sawyer: it functions as Avondale-Logandale Elementary School.}

In the middle of the 19th century, Chicago quickly went from swamp to metropolis because of its canal, and the railroads that followed. One of the many beneficiaries of Chicago’s rapid growth was a sleepy stop along the Milwaukee train line called Avondale. Due to the rail stop and its location along the North Branch of the Chicago River, Avondale developed into an industrial hub in the early 20th century, and was home to factories for Olson Rug, Florsheim Shoes, and, famously, Dad’s Root Beer. Avondale’s 20th century bungalow-belt housing stock reflects the area’s working class beginnings. And, interestingly enough, today the neighborhood is home to the production facility of a different kind of beer—that of Revolution Brewing.

If you’d like to learn more about Avondale, here are a few good websites to start:

Check my active listings page for homes for sale in the Avondale neighborhood. Contact me for more information on living in or near Avondale–I can also let you know about upcoming listings in the area.