Updated: Thursday, 09 Jul 2009, 10:00 PM CDT
It's long been considered one of Chicago's most vibrant, and affluent, neighborhoods. Still, Lincoln Park hasn't been immune to the recession. Its problems are, perhaps, just a little more hidden.
Tonight, how residents and businesses are managing to steer themselves back onto the "Road to Recovery" Our guide, Mark Saxenmeyer...a ten-year resident of Lincoln Park.
He joins us now. Like many other folks who settle here, I was drawn to Lincoln Park's proximity to the Loop and to the lakefront. The fact is there's little crime but lots of culture. Lincoln park leaders say many of the economic challenges other neighborhoods are facing haven't been as severe here.
There's a lot to love about Lincoln Park, from the shops to the restaurants, the theaters to the nightlife, from the zoo to the beach, to the very park that gives it it's name. Those who know it best tend to select similar words when describing it...words like walkable, convenient and accessible.
But scratch beneath the surface and some cracks in the fancy facades have surfaced in recent months. Lots of for-sale signs, empty storefronts, worried faces.
Alderman Scott Waugespack says: "We do see people who are extremely stressed out that are coming in here and looking for any kind of assistance they can get."
Real estate agent Doug Fox says compared to other Chicago neighborhoods, foreclosures are few and far between in Lincoln Park. Yet he says folks who've been laid off and are desperate to unload their property are often selling at a loss, especially if they've lived in their home less than three years.
He says: "It's been the most challenging market I've been in." He adds compared to the first half of 2008, so far this year condo sale prices here are down about 3 percent, and multi-unit buildings down even more. The one bright spot is single family homes--prices actually rose by five percent.
Fox says: "I think it's location...plays a big part. Like most restaurants, times have been tough for Goose Island Clybourn, a 21-year-old institution in Lincoln Park. "Well there's no question people are eating out less."
Yet general manager Tim Lane also says that had it not been for the recession, Goose Island might have actually shut down for good.
He recalls: "There was going to be a significant rent increase for the beginning of 2009. We went back and forth in negotiating the rent and at the end of the day, we even announced that we were closing. But in the 11th hour of November, we were able to renegotiate the lease without an increase. I think that's one example where the economy actually worked in our favor because it wasn't like a lot of people were beating down the door to pay the higher price."
Padraic Swanton says the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce is bracing itself for two major upcoming changes to the neighborhood. DePaul University is planning a massive expansion and Children's Memorial Hospital is closing down in order to move to a new facility in Streeterville. If handled poorly, both upheavals could create more economic problems for the neighborhood. But Swanton's spin is nothing but positive.
He says: "If a neighborhood remains stagnant that's when you'll see a downturn. When you continue to reinvent yourself, you continue to remain a destination for other people."
Lincoln park makes up only one-fifth of Alderman Waugespack's 32nd ward but he pays close attention to the entire neighborhood because of the potential benefits he says Lincoln Park's relatively strong infrastructure can bring to the weaker economies of Bucktown, Wicker Park, Roscoe Village and the other areas he serves.
He adds: "One of the biggest things for us is really focusing on good urban planning practices, which frankly I thought were kind of nonexistent before." He points to the Fnkl and Sons Steel Factory on Lincoln Park's Far West Side, set to vacate its 22 acres of prime real estate sometime in 2010.
He asks: "Could we turn it into an alternative technology...windmills, solar technology?" Changes that he believes would bring new and lasting jobs to Lincoln Park, in an eco-friendly way.
Another factor that's helped Lincoln Park through the recession is tourism. The Steppenwolf Theater, Second City Improv, the architecture, world-renowned restaurants like Charlie Trotter's--I could go on and on. But all of these things and many more remain robust draws for visitors who are spending money.