Real Estate Focus

The Return of Austin

By Lisa R. Jenkins    

With over 115, 000 residents, Austin is Chicago’s largest neighborhood, both in size and in population. Located on the city’s far west side, Austin is the Oak Park birthplace of Ernest Hemingway and home to many Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings. It began as an upscale suburb built on farmland by businessman and real estate speculator Henry W. Austin. For the greater part of the 1800s, the village of Austin was under the jurisdiction of Cicero Township until it was annexed by the City of Chicago in 1889. The Austin of that time was known for its wide streets and the now historic Columbus Park (designed by famous landscape architect Jens Jenson).

Following the decline of the city’s railroads, Austin underwent an economic slump.  However, key sites in the neighborhood are now being revamped to restore its former glory. The North Austin branch of the Chicago Public Library was recently renovated and over seventy-five percent of Austin’s streets have been resurfaced. On the northern sector of the neighborhood are several newly-constructed, single-family homes.

Most notably, Austin is now the home of the first Wal-Mart store within city limits. The arrival of Wal-Mart also fueled the ‘big box’ debate. (At issue was an ordinance that would have forced big-box retailers to pay employees a higher minimum wage. The ordinance was approved by the City Council but vetoed by Mayor Richard M. Daley).

Margaret Garner, the first black woman hired to build a Wal-Mart, fought to address the concerns of Austin residents who feared that  they would not be able  to work in their own neighborhood. “It’s uplifting to know that folks are employed right within the community and they have a sense of pride working in that store,” Garner said.

Mayor Daley was recently quoted as saying, “More than $310 million of public and private projects in Austin have been completed over the last five years or are about to begin. They are the result of a collaborative effort involving government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sector and neighborhood and community organizations.”

Austin

Chicago’s largest neighborhood, Austin, has seen its share of hard times. The community is slowly rebuilding itself and should soon return to a popular community where much of the Victorian architecture, from the early 1900s still remains.

The average listing price in Austin for the week ending May 2nd was $264,510 while the average listing price for Chicago, as a whole was $486,794. Austin’s average sales price in the last quarter of 2006 was $239,367 making the average price per square foot hovers at $140.