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Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends – A project of The Chicago Community Trust
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW Dense, high-income communities support healthy housing, retail A short bike ride from the Lakefront Trail, close to
downtown, and filled with entertainment and shopping
choices, Lincoln Park and Lakeview are among Chicago’s
most in-demand neighborhoods. A destination for recent Big
10 college graduates, hangout for fans of the Chicago Cubs,
and location of theater, music, and comedy venues, these
adjacent lakefront neighborhoods are experiencing heavy,
ongoing reinvestment in residential, commercial, and public
structures.
Lincoln Park and Lakeview were once solidly working-class
neighborhoods whose residents worked in factories and
workshops along the river and rail spurs – or at downtown
jobs reachable by CTA trains and buses. The communities
were crowded and worn out after World War II, peaking in population with 227,000 residents in
1950. Ever since, as household sizes and population fell, the neighborhoods trended upward in
homeownership, education levels, and income, and became less diverse in the process.
The district has a remarkable mix of housing types, with 110-year-old rowhouses and cottages
alongside new balconied condominiums, just down the street from corner apartment blocks and high-
rises. Land uses are just as varied. The lakefront park is half-a-mile deep in many places, strung with
paths and lagoons, Belmont Harbor, Lake Shore Drive, and the free Lincoln Park Zoo and
Conservatory. Retail corridors have widely varied character, including the Belmont theater district,
gay-oriented Halsted Street in Boystown, and bars and restaurants along Clark Street in Wrigleyville.
Source: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using 2010 Decennial Census.
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 2
To the west along the river and Ravenswood Avenue are reminders of the area’s industrial past, from
metal-recycling companies to big-box stores on former factory land.
The district has one of Chicago’s consistently strongest
housing markets, though today it faces fresh competition from
other neighborhoods to the north, west, and south. The
highest housing values have traditionally been in Lincoln
Park, where new mansions go for $3 million or more, and
elaborate rehabs are interspersed with new single-family,
townhouse, and condominium developments. After decades
of growth, the scarcity of available land means that teardowns
of less-valuable property are common. On the 2700 block of
North Lakewood, for instance, worker cottages once lined the
street and railroad tank cars served a candy factory at
Diversey. Now the tracks are abandoned, the factory is gone, and the block is almost full of new single-
family homes with as many as six bedrooms and bathrooms, at prices to match.
Slightly less expensive than Lincoln Park, the Lakeview community has been coming on strong for
years, offering thousands of units in lakefront high-rises and many more on less-dense interior streets.
Like Lincoln Park and other hot neighborhoods to the west, including North Center, developable
parcels are mostly claimed by local developers, and “underutilized” buildings, including Single Room
Occupancy apartment buildings, are being converted to higher-end uses or torn down.
Investment drivers
In 2015, four major parcels are in transition to new uses that are likely to create ripple effects:
River Works – When steelmaker A. Finkl & Sons relocated to the South Side two years ago, this
parcel and the adjacent Guttman Tannery and A. Lakin rubber sites became available for future
uses. Extending along the river on both sides of Cortland Street, the 40 acres are in two Planned
Manufacturing Districts where retail and residential uses are prohibited. The economic
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW OVER TIME 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Population 182,747 154,665 152,123 159,137 158,484
Share of population in poverty 13.2% 13.1% 10.4% 8.7% 11.4%
Percent owner-occupied/renter occupied 12/88 24/76 28/72 34/66 39/61
Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using U.S. Census data from US2010 Project at Brown University.
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 3
development group North Branch Works is conducting a $200,000 study to determine the
potential for new job-creating uses, including advanced manufacturing.
The 32-acre Lathrop Homes public housing complex is in the beginning stages of a
controversial $1.6 billion redevelopment to create a mixed-income community. The latest
master plan for the area calls for preservation of 14 historic structures north of Diversey and
construction of modern mid-rise buildings south of Diversey, for a total of 1,208 units. The plan
calls for improved riverfront access and new park space. Community debate has focused on
historic preservation and the reduced number of affordable housing units (212 affordable
rentals and 400 public housing units, versus 925 original units) in this increasingly expensive
part of the city.
Children’s Memorial site – Six acres that once served thousands of workers and visitors a day
have been idle since 2012 when the renamed Lurie hospital moved to Streeterville. A $300
million mixed-use redevelopment plan by McCaffery Interests was approved by the City
Council in 2014 but a lawsuit by residents in the surrounding historic district delayed
movement on the land sale (the lawsuit was dismissed in January 2015). Objections centered
around the development’s proposed density, with 540 apartments, 60 condominiums, and 160
senior units, plus retail space and a health club. In the meantime, nearby sandwich shops and
other businesses that once served the hospital have closed.
Wrigley Field and adjacent blocks are in line for years of construction as the Chicago Cubs
move forward on a $500 million renovation of the ballpark and construction of an adjacent
public plaza and 175-room Sheraton hotel on the west side of Clark Street. A separate
development on the south side of Addison will add 148 apartments and 170,000 square feet of
retail space fronting on both Addison and Clark. Many businesses in Wrigleyville cater to the
large crowds that converge on the area for Cubs home games.
Also in the works is a $31.5 million expansion of Lincoln Park at Fullerton as the Army Corps of
Engineers adds 5.8 acres of new park space to prevent shoreline erosion and relieve a pinch point in the
Lakefront Trail, which serves 13,800 bikers, hikers, and roller-bladers at Fullerton on an average
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 4
weekday. The improvements include conversion of the summer-only Theater on the Lake to a year-
round performance and event space with a 400-seat theater.
Housing and retail
The resurgence of Lincoln Park began in the 1970s during the hippie era, when Old Town’s eclectic mix
of music clubs, shops, restaurants, and bars began attracting a citywide clientele. Housing was mostly
inexpensive and deteriorated, but that began to change as century-old cottages and townhouses were
rehabbed and upgraded. On the 1300 block of North Wells, the former Dr. Scholl’s foot-product
complex, a warren of 30 buildings, was converted to loft housing in the 1980s and renamed Cobbler’s
Square. This spurred development of brand-new housing on previously forbidding blocks to the west,
bringing new retail stores to Wells Street and more customers to the Second City comedy club at North
and Wells.
High-rise residential buildings were already the dominant use along the lakefront, but vitality spread
into the mixed low-rise areas to the west, which were well served by express buses to the Loop via
Lake Shore Drive. By the late 1980s, many of the older structures in Lincoln Park had been rehabbed
and the first waves of gentrification were moving into Lakeview. Just as hippies marked the first phase
of Old Town’s renewal, a growing gay population was transforming Halsted Street north of Belmont,
where the concentration of gay bars, music venues, and other attractions became known as Boystown.
East Lakeview is virtually shut down one weekend each year for the Gay Pride parade, and the area
remains a major center of the city’s LGBT
population, despite outmigration of couples and
families to Andersonville and the North Lakefront.
In 2004, the Center on Halsted opened at 3656 N.
Halsted as the Midwest’s largest community center
for the LGBT community, and in 2014, the nearby
Town Hall Apartments debuted as the city’s first
LGBT-friendly senior housing development, with
79 units in a former police station and adjoining
new building.
EMPLOYMENT – LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW
Top six employment sectors (# jobs) 2005 2011
Accommodation and Food Services 9,664 11,014
Health Care and Social Assistance 9,350 9,693
Retail Trade 9,016 8,657
Other Services (except Public Admin) 3,346 3,516
Professional, Scientific, and Tech Services 1,709 2,056
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 1,950 1,883
Total # private-sector jobs in district
46,706
48,327
District Citywide
Unemployment rate 2012 4.9% 12.9%
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 5
With more than 23,000 residents per square mile –
second highest density among the planning
districts after the North Lakefront – and relatively high incomes in many households, the Lincoln Park
Lakeview district supports more than 2,700 small businesses spread along Clark, Broadway, Halsted,
Lincoln, Southport, Belmont, and other streets. Character varies from street to street and continues to
evolve as rents increase and populations shift. Boutiques and specialty shops created a cluster early on
at Armitage and Halsted and continue to thrive there even as some shoppers have moved on to
Bucktown, Pilsen, and other new hotspots. The area around Cubs park, known as Wrigleyville, is
heavily served by sports-oriented restaurants and bars, some serving not just Cubs fans but Big 10
alums who gather to cheer their favorite college teams. Much of Lincoln Park benefits from DePaul
University, which has invested heavily in its 36-acre campus around Fullerton and Sheffield.
Belmont Avenue maintains its dominance as a theater district, with about 20 venues including the Briar
Street Theater, which has headlined the Blue Man Group continuously since 1997; the Athenaeum,
which hosts a dozen resident companies as well as touring troupes; the Laugh Factory and Comedy
Sportz; and the four-theater Stage 773, which features long-running shows and comedy festivals. The
blocks of Belmont near the CTA Red and Brown Line station were once known for punk clothing, army
surplus, and tattoo parlors, but are changing along with the neighborhood. At the triangular
intersection of Clark and Belmont, the former Dunkin Donuts and its surface parking lot are being
replaced by an eight-story, 90-unit apartment building with two floors of retail. Proximity to the
Belmont CTA station qualifies the building for reduced parking; it will have just 39 residential spaces.
CTA Red and Brown Line Ridership (weekday boardings, year-end averages, 2009 and 2013)
Red Line Brown Line
Clark/
Division North/
Clybourn Fullerton Belmont Addison Sheridan Sedgwick Armitage Diversey Wellington Southport Paulina
2009 7,025 4,293 11,518 11,434 7,950 4,853 3,308 3,811 5,133 2,426* 2,927 1,569
2013 7,468 5,707 13,362 12,822 7,981 5,483 3,900 4,313 5,749 3,035 3,299 2,779
Source: Chicago Transit Authority Annual Ridership Reports. * Wellington ridership in row for 2009 is actually from 2010, because the station was closed for reconstruction in part of 2009.
Sources: Calculations by Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data (top sectors) and 2012 Five-Year American Community Survey (unemployment).
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 6
All of this activity is supported by the CTA’s heavily used Red, Brown, and Purple Line trains that
serve the neighborhoods. The area includes several of the CTA’s highest-ridership stations and has
shown substantial passenger growth in recent years.
Challenges and opportunities
After many years of strong demand for its housing and retail space, both Lincoln Park and Lakeview
face growing competition from other neighborhoods that offer similar or different lifestyle choices.
Most big-box retailers are now within a few miles drive; Logan Square, River North, and Humboldt
Park offer “edgier” street environments; and neighborhoods farther north have become bigger
attractions for the city’s LGBT population. High-quality housing choices, whether for families or
singles, are now more available in other neighborhoods than they were two decades ago, when Lincoln
Park and Lakeview were among the few upscale choices in Chicago.
Source: Easy Analytic Software, Inc., updated January 2014, as displayed on Woodstock Institute Data Portal.
Recent plans and studies include strategies to help the area maintain its competitive edge. The 2011
Lakeview Area Master Plan concentrates on the interconnected retail districts along Ashland, Belmont,
Southport, and Lincoln Avenue. It suggests better landscaping, “living” walls of greenery, gateways,
and branding of subdistricts to bring more life to the sidewalks and more shoppers to local stores. To
bring pedestrians from one district to another, the plan recommends turning the unused pathway
beneath the Brown Line tracks, between the Paulina and Southport stations, into a “Low Line” walking
trail with natural landscaping.
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 7
The 2013 North Clark Street Strategic Plan identifies a lack of recent reinvestment along Clark Street
between Diversey and Belmont. The diagonal street is heavily oriented for auto uses north of
Wellington, with big-box stores, parking lots, and drive-through banks creating a hostile environment
for pedestrians, especially at the six-way intersection of Halsted, Clark, and Barry. South of Wellington
is a more traditional Chicago streetscape, with stores on the ground floor and apartments above, but
sidewalks are too narrow for sidewalk cafes and landscaping is drab or missing. The plan recommends
bump-outs and wider sidewalks, landscaping improvements for parking lots, an inviting connector
alley between Clark and Broadway to bring foot traffic in both directions, and reconfiguration of the
six-way intersections to provide more public spaces and safer street crossings. Specific building and
façade improvements are also suggested to enliven the corridor and attract new retailers.
The 2010 Halsted Triangle Plan addresses a very different environment on the edge of the North
Branch Canal, between Division and North Avenue. This former industrial area has transmuted into a
mixed commercial, industrial, and entertainment zone, taking advantage of its location near the North
and Clybourn commercial district. A master plan suggests delineation of districts within the triangle
and related streetscape and pedestrian improvements, including better access to the riverfront. When
the Whole Foods store relocated to Kingsbury Avenue in the triangle, from north of North Avenue, it
extended the existing riverwalk and opened its back doors to a riverfront plaza, exactly the type of
changes recommended by the plan.
Three pending transportation projects will create additional opportunities in the district:
Ashland Bus Rapid Transit – The first phase of this proposed service would bring new transit
stations to North Avenue and Cortland Streets at Ashland, creating new nodes of activity; the
second phase would continue the line north to Irving Park Road.
CTA Belmont Flyover – This bridge for northbound Brown Line trains, over the Red and
Purple Line tracks, will provide more-frequent trains and relieve overcrowding on the CTA’s
busiest corridor. Construction would require demolition of up to 16 parcels north of Belmont
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 8
for track realignment, creating transit-oriented-development opportunities after project
completion.
Redefine the Drive – The 2014 North Lake Shore Drive Phase I Study is the first step in
complete redevelopment of the lakefront transportation system, including the drive itself, inner
drive, Lakefront Path, and connections to east-west arteries. The project offers major
opportunities to expand overall capacity, reduce traffic accidents and conflicts, and improve
conditions for CTA bus riders, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.
With continued heavy reinvestment in both the commercial and residential sectors of Lincoln Park and
Lakeview, and with multiple plans in place to address weaknesses and barriers to growth, this
planning district is positioned for growth. The primary challenge for the district is to find a balance
among competing interests, and to maintain the social and physical environments that have made it
such a strong attraction. Examples of development opportunities (to come)
Place Location Status Notes
In-fill sites Various locations Small lots continue to be developed with single-family homes or three- and four-flat residential buildings.
River Works (Finkl, Guttman, Lakin properties)
Around Cortland Avenue on east side of Chicago River.
40 acre site in Planned Manufacturing District is being studied for potential uses.
North Branch Works, an economic development nonprofit and city delegate agency, is managing the study process.
Children’s Memorial Hospital site
South of Fullerton, east of Lincoln Avenue.
McCaffery Interests has created detailed development plan but had not yet purchased the site as of late 2014.
Lawsuit by neighborhood opponents had stalled progress but was dismissed in January 2015.
Former industrial areas Multiple underutilized sites, generally along Kingsbury, Elston Avenue, and Chicago River.
Many sites are in buffer zone near Planned Manufacturing District, allowing retail but not residential uses.
Retail big-box stores have been added at multiple locations on the western edges of Lincoln Park.
Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 Summary of Assets – Lincoln Park Lakeview – February 2015 – Page 9
Data note: Demographic and other data is compiled by Chicago Community Area, which may differ slightly from the boundaries of the CN2015 Planning Districts. Community Areas included in this profile are Lincoln Park and Lakeview.
Research support for Chicago Neighborhoods 2015: Assets, Plans and Trends was provided by a team convened by The Chicago Community Trust. The summary of assets for this planning district was created by LISC Chicago and Teska Associates with materials from Metropolitan Planning Council, Place Consulting, Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, and many other sources. Author: Patrick Barry.
Learn more about Lincoln Park Lakeview and Chicago Neighborhoods 2015 at cct.org/CN2015/LincolnParkLakeview. Learn more about data and sources at cct.org/CN2015/DataSources.
Wilson Yards
Chicago
LAKE MICHIGAN
94
Costco
The VicBelmont Theater District
Wrigley
New City
Mariano's
Straw Dog
Whirlyball
Home Depot
iO Theater
Mt. Carmel
Apple Store
CH Robinson
Second City
Second City
Lincoln Hall
Stanton Park
Lincoln Park
Laugh Factory
Wrigley Field
Zanies Theater
Francis Parker
Apollo Theater
Children's Unit
City Day School
Riverfront Plaza
St. Luke Academy
Lakeview Academy
Timeline Theater
Lincoln Park Zoo
Center on Halsted
Annoyance Theater
Music Box Theatre
DePaul UniversitySt. Josaphat School
Steppenwolf Theatre
Briar Street Theater
Catherine Cook School
ArtDe Triumph Gallery
Latin School of Chicago
Signal of Peace Monumnet
British School of Chicago
Former Children's Memorial
Mayer ES
Blaine ES
Burley ES
Alcott ES
Greeley ES
Agassiz ES
Lincoln ES
Lasalle ES
Prescott ES
Newberry ES
Manierre ES Franklin ES
Schiller ES
Hawthorne ES
Nettelhorst ES
Lincoln Park HS
Paulina Southport
Diversey
Armitage
Sedgwick
Wellington
NORTH
ELSTON
DIVERSEY
FULLERTON
RACI
NE
ARMITAGE
LAKEVIEW
LINCOLN PARK
Lincoln Park
Lincoln Belmont
Fullerton
Addison
Belmont
Sheridan
North/Clybourn
Clark/Division
Lakeview WIC Clinic
Park West
North Ave. Beach
Athenaeum Theatre
LGBT Senior Housing
Northwestern Clinic
Diversey Golf Course
St. Alphonsus Academy
Anshe Emet Day School
Chicago History Museum
The Pointe at Clark St.
Lincoln Park Conservatory
Stage 773 and Theater Wit
P. Notebaert Nature Museum
North Ave.Volleyball
Courts
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
City College Lakeview Learning
Coyote Logistics, Green Exchange
Hamilton ES
Schneider ES
CICS ChicagoQuest
Inter AmericanMagnet ES
Merlo
Near North
North BranchIndustrial Corridor
See North CentralPlanning District
Jewel
Lathrop Homes
McGrath Acura
Fullerton Plaza
McGrath Lexus of Chicago
North & Sheffield Commons
St. James Lutheran School
St. Vincent de Paul Parish
Planned UI Labs
Former Near North HS
Illinois Advocate Masonic
19th
Old Town TriangleHistoric District
Mid NorthHistoric District
LakeviewHistoric District
SheffieldHistoric District
See Milwaukee AvePlanning District
See North LakefrontPlanning District
See CentralPlanning District
Wrigleyville
Boystown
CLARK
BROADWAY
Old Town
LOGAN SQUARE
Future Retail
Mariano’s
Whole Foods
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW DISTRICT ASSET MAPCHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS 2015
DATE | 01.16.2015
Lakeview Chamber of Commerce
Central Lakeview Merchants Association
Old Town Merchants & Residents Association
North Branch South
Goose Island
North Branch North
Addison South
Eastman/North Branch
Lincoln/Belmont/Ashland
Division/North Branch
Weed/Fremont
Near North
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
See North Lakefront Planning District
See North Central Side Planning District
See Milwaukee Avenue Planning District
See Central Planning District
NORTH
DIVISION
ASHLA
ND
HALS
TED
DIVERSEY
BELMONT
ADDISON
FULLERTON
ARMITAGE
RACI
NE
43rd Ward
44th Ward
46th Ward47th Ward
32nd Ward
33nd Ward
1st Ward
2nd Ward
27th Ward
SSA#27 SSA#17
SSA# 8
SSA#23
SSA#18
SSA#35
SSA#48
LINCOLN PARK LAKEVIEW PLANNING DISTRICT WARD/TIF/SSA MAPCHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS 2015
*This planning area is located within the Local Economic & Employment Development Council & North Business and Industrial Council (LIRI)
LAKE MICHIGAN
DATE | 01.16.2015
(NBDC) serves this district but main o�ce may be located o� the map