For reasons unknown to us here at the Edgewater Community Buzz, quite a few storefronts and buildings along Broadway from roughly Balmoral up to Hollywood are for lease, vacant and/or rundown. One of the most noticeable empty spaces is the large building seen in the photo above, which looks like a burned out shell when viewed from behind on the Red Line. The "Lofty One Bedroom Condominiums" sign has been on the building forever.There isn't an established pattern as far as the types of empty spaces to be seen, it ranges from new construction to former restaurants, etc. Things do seem to pick up just north and south of these few blocks, which is encouraging. Does anyone have any theories or inside information to share as to why this stretch of Broadway is in this state?
I took a ride this morning to capture shots of a few of the spaces, heading south from Hollywood...
Just south of Hollywood on the west side of the street.
Next door, in a newer condo building.
The old Pasteur space.
Formerly Pepitone's Restaurant.
This used to be"The Writer's Lounge" at Balmoral and Broadway. Work had started on something new here last year, however that has halted and the work orders have been removed from the front door.
12 comments:
You could have gone a few more blocks south to Foster and taken a picture of that apartment building on the northwest corner of Foster and Broadway that has a first floor of retail that has been boarded up forever. It's kind of sad to have all these empty storefronts on Broadway, but not surprising given the economy. There's plenty of places on Clark Street as well (the laundromat at Rascher has been empty at least a year now).
My take is, it's all about the economy. That wave of rehab and reconstruction work that started three years ago has petered out. This stretch of Broadway is just a concentrated example of it.
I know Pasteur changed locations a while ago and no one has picked up the lease on that spot. Peppitone's had a fire last year and never re-opened. Very few people can get a loan to move into any of these places.
Who is the Alderman for this/these area(s)? Shiller or Smith?
Hopped Up, I know the building you're referring to. It's a real eyesore and has been that way for at least 6-7 years now.
Anon 1:42, these buildings are in Alderman Smith's Ward....
Pepitones = fire
Pastuers = failed project
Writers workshop = failed restaurant
Recession = priceless
ECB, there are, as you probably know, quite a few empty places north of that stretch, too. In particular, Broadway north of Granville up to Sheridan/Devon has lots of empty spaces.
Mary Ann Smith is the alderman up to Granville Avenue. From Granville Avenue north it's 49th Ward / Joe Moore. A lot of the demise has to do with failed projects, no financing and the economy. I was sick to lose Pepitone's.
Actually, the area on the west side of Broadway on Granville is Smith. It's a typical crazy Chicago ward map. The area from the middle of Broadway east, the middle of Granville and the west side of the el tracks is Joe Moore's ward (which encompasses the new condo building on the NE corner of Granville and Broadway.
As MOTS noted in a post here, the system of neighborhoods and wards can be confusing. Here are two helpful links:
'hoods:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/City_Neighborhoods_8_5x11.pdf
Wards:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalDeptCategoryAction.do?deptCategoryOID=-536886508&contentType=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=SubAgency&entityName=Geographic+Information+Systems&deptMainCategoryOID=-536886489
50 wards, 77 (or so) neighborhoods... enjoy! :)
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