Is Downtown Edgebrook In Need Of Redevelopment?
Just last week, I took my family for ice cream to the Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream parlor, around 7 pm (on a weeknight). The place was packed with families, enjoying their ice cream on one of the first warm spring evenings. Standing outside on the sidewalk at the ice cream parlor, I looked out west on Devon Ave. Across the street, some patrons were having dinner at Elephant, the Thai restaurant. The lights at Starbucks (Devon and Central) were still on, with a few customers inside. And that was it. The rest of the sidewalks were rolled up. Nothing else going on in downtown Edgebrook.
Now, I’m not advocating that our downtown area evolve into another Rush/Division Street in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. But is the current state of affairs really the picture of Edgebrook’s downtown area that we should be content with? Granted, Edgebrook residents have superior access to all kinds of nearby shopping opportunities at big box stores, grocery stores etc. such as the ones at Pointe Plaza and Village Crossing Malls and Niles Costco and Target on Melvina. And with the noteworthy exception of maybe Happy Foods on Central Ave. and Ace Hardware on Devon Ave., this is probably the major reason why many individual mom-and-pop retailers have a hard time establishing a profitable business in downtown Edgebrook.
In a full-page ad in Nadig Newspapers – Reporter & Journal (Week of May 13, 2007, Vol. 43 #19), Les-On Drugs announced that they will be closing their pharmacy on May 24, 2007, and transferring their business to the pharmacy at Dominick’s food store located at 6312 N. Nagle Ave. On the front page of the same paper, Brian Nadig reports that 6413 N. Kinzua Ave., the site of the former Edgebrook Post Office that was converted into an office center nine years ago, is for sale for $1,750,000 (actually, according to MLS info it went under contract on April 6, 2007). A number of possible uses under the current B1-1 zoning of the property are conceivable, among them offices, medical, restaurant, or a bank. Not to mention condos which would also be allowed.
The point being that the retail strip on and around Devon Ave. that we call downtown Edgebrook does not seem to follow a structured path that would make this area more attractive to its residents, as evidenced by retail flight. I don’t have all the answers as to what type of retail should be drawn to the center of our neighborhood, but I do believe that we need to engage in a meaningful discussion with Ald. Brian Doherty and the 41st Ward Zoning Advisory Board, about making downtown Edgebrook a more vibrant, profitable (for all retailers) and fun place.
How would your ideal downtown Edgebrook look like? Are you happy with the way things are now, or would you like to see things changed, and if so, how? Chime in, and let us know.
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Tags: Chicago, Condo, Contract, Edgebrook, MLS, Neighborhood, Real Estate
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Was searching the net for info about 6413 N Kinzua, which happened to bring up a result from your familiar site.
How things have changed — or not changed — in the last two-plus years. I suppose this should be a time when Downtown Edgebrook (or is is it Uptown Edgebrook?) will hopefully hang on to what it’s got and redevelopment/growth can begin in earnest with an overall economic recovery.
Anyway, walking past 6413 N Kinzua, I noticed some work going on and checked the building permit, which lists “Personal Care/Wellness Center” as the business type. Inmultiple indexes on the Internet, there’s a listing at this address for “Essence Medical Spa & Wellness Center” but that would seem to be an old business that somehow got attached to that address.
Any idea what exact type of business is going in there?
To answer my own question…
Found this website, which still is a bit unclear on the exact nature of the business. Is it a day spa? A health club? Both?
essencechicago.com
The phone contact goes directly to voice mail.
JB, your research about this location – 6413 Kinzua – does indeed point to a spa/wellness center, as Google has it as that, as well. I’m not really sure if it’s operational or not, at this point. But it goes to the heart of this post which I wrote about a year and a half ago: downtown Edgebrook (or uptown, as the long-time residents call it) still hasn’t changed, with one exception, that being Al Primo Canto, the Brazilian Restaurant. Aside from that, in downtown Edgebrook, there is no shortage of hair salons, nail salons, real estate offices, and now a spa/wellness place. There is hardly any meaningful retail variety, imho. The flipside of the coin is, downtown Edgebrook is a challenging place to run a business, as nearby shopping centers in Skokie and Niles with their ample parking offerings and one-stop-shop opportunities don’t make it easy for downtown Edgebrook merchants.
Here’s a shot from yesterday:
I actually think the retail in Downtown Edgebrook is pretty diverse. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the 4 blocks of Devon, plus the block of Central around Devon:
Devon, west to east
Model railroad/hobby store
Coin collector shop
Cigar store
(Is there a separate antique store, too?)
IIIIIIIIIIII (railroad tracks)
Hardware store
Consignment/used clothing store
Cut Rate Toys
Brazilian restaurant
Jeweler
Subway sandwich shop
Starbucks
Florist (new-ish)
Bead store (moved from Central Ave)
Irish Shop
Villa Rosa Pizza
Thai Elephant
The Chocolate Shoppe ice cream
Moher Pub
Baseball card/memorabilia shop (moved from Sauganash)
The newer Italian restaurant
On Central, south to north
Edgebrook Diner
Happy Foods
Edgebrook TV
Edgebrook Bicycle
When you add that up, plus the service businesses like dry cleaners/tailors, doctors offices, nail salons/hair salons, etc., it’s really a lot of businesses in one 5- or 6-block area, and I know I am missing at least a couple.
The problem is that a lot of the businesses in that last group (doctors offices and salons plus real estate offices, child care facilities, tanning parlor) “feel” like dead spaces if you don’t have a specific need. If you don’t go to that particular doctor/salon/real estate office, you’ll pay no mind every time you walk by. Compounding that is the true dead space — the empty storefronts near Al Primo Canto, in particular. (I’ve heard the stories about the brothers who only rent those storefronts at “their price.” Too bad.) It gives the feeling that Edgebrook is half-empty, when it’s not.
Most evenings, it does get very quiet with the exception of the new restaurants. I could see room for a couple more. It’d be interesting to understand how Edison Park became such a restaurant hotbed. Was it because Park Ridge was dry at one time, so all those people needed someplace to go?
I agree that some kind of new effort should be made to boost the occupancy and lift Edgebrook’s sleepy appearances. The business district needs some kind of unifying theme — how about some fancy arches like they have on Halsted in East Lakeview and on Division in Humboldt Park? Only half-kidding there, but it would be more “interesting” if Edgebrook (and thereby its potential storeowners and shoppers) had something to embrace — its proximity to the forest and river, the railroad (grrr!! backups!), the Irish community (works for places like Greektown, Holland, Mich., etc.).
Here are some stores I’d like to see in downtown Edgebrook:
1. Drug store (or Happy Foods add a pharmacy dept. and extend hours a bit)
2. Arts-related businesses. … The arts district on the southeast side of Oak Park has bloomed in the past 10-15 years. Certainly there are some artistic people in our community. We’re not all firemen and policemen — and I know even some of them could be handy with a paintbrush! So a framing shop that doubles as an art gallery; a musical instrument store that provides lessons and does in-store performances (sort of a mini-Old Town School)
3. Mexican dining (pretty much the only gaping hole in the neighborhood dining options, but I’m sure there’d be room for a couple of other specialty places like a tea shop, etc.)
4. Health club/fitness center (remains to be seen if new place on Kinzua will fill the bill)
5. Book store (used books/music, the kind of place to get lost in on a rainy afternoon) (Half Price Books kind at VC kind of cancels out this wish)
6. Antique store(s) … Places like Forest Park and Belmont Ave. east of Western have carved out niches as destinations for antique hunters. It’s definitely a distinct alternative to the mall stores.
We could also use some more regularly scheduled community events. How about a weekly farmers market in the summer and fall? This would give the community (both Edgebrook and surrounding areas) a focal point to come visit downtown and hopefully discover all the other stores. I’d bet even Happy Foods could benefit from a farmers market in the Devon/Central lot, because more people would be “right there” and do the rest of their weekly shopping on the trip.
Back to my original point … Edgebrook’s great — I wouldn’t live anywhere else in the entire city, but with a little creative thinking it could be even better by pulling the best little bits from these other places (Lincoln Square, Edison Park, etc).
Did you make it to the end of this? Then you, too, must care about Edgebrook. Instead of just lurking, let’s hear what YOU think
wow, excellent post, JB. Loved reading your thoughts on Edgebrook. So it took you only a year and a half to come up with a response to my post.
Seriously awesome points that you make. I’m a bit in a hurry, at the moment, but I promise to respond later this evening. Thanks again for chiming in.
JB, cut rate toy stores, cigar stores, and coin collector shops/ antique stores do not constitute retail variety, in my opinion. I’m talking about retail that a substantial portion of local residents use, on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this only happens in the nearby shopping centers.
Now, restaurants/bars could bring some action to the neighborhood. I’m not sure whether or not Edison Park’s success with its restaurant/bar business had anything to do with Park Ridge being dry, or, with the resp. alderman actually residing in EP and frequenting these places often.
But there’s no denying, that if we had a place like Moretti’s in Edgebrook, this could be the start of a hip trend. Al Primo Canto does well already, and draws non-local crowds. Moher’s is mainly a hangout for Edgebrook locals and is sorta located at the “end of the strip”. Same thing with “Piatto’s” the Italian restaurant next door. Now, if we had a Moretti’s located at 6413 Kinzua, with acceptable parking opportunities around, we’d have a game-changer. I say this with all due respect to Villa Rosa Pizza, whose awesome pizza I actually had this week. But they are no Moretti’s, imo.
Also, the Edgebrook post office is on the list of outlets the USPS is considering shutting down. Should that happen, we’ll have another space that’ll sit there vacant.
Community events in Edgebrook are actually not exactly far and few between. The Edgebrook Community Association does a pretty respectable job of organizing a bunch of them, such as Garden Club, 4th of July parade, and Christmas holiday party, to name a few. But I like your idea of a farmer’s market, such as the one they have in Lincoln Square. They also fund free parking for shoppers on the lot south of Happy Foods.
Finally, keep in mind that the demographics in Edgebrook are changing, slowly but surely. I now see a fairly large number of young families moving here from trendy city neighborhoods such as Lake View, Lincoln Park, Lincoln Square, Bucktown etc. Their expectations with regard to what kind of retail ought to be available in downtown/uptown Edgebrook will have to be, and will be addressed in the future.
It seems to me that a major disadvantage of the downtown area is that, being at a very busy traffic intersection, it is not pedestrian friendly. It is not an area where families are inclined to stroll and meet their neighbors. I think there are two things that could be done to improve this situation:
1. Recently, the parking lot on the Northeast corner of Central and Devon (adjacent to Happy Foods) has been sold.
Perhaps this lot could be acquired and turned into a plaza containing seating, trees, landscaping, room for kids to run around etc. An example of how it might look would be Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square, which was redeveloped in recent years, and has been a huge success (see http://chicago.about.com/od/chicagoneighborhoods/ss/LincolnSquarePictures.htm). This could be an area for families to relax, enjoy a coffee or Ice Cream on weekend mornings, or after picking kids up from school on weekdays, or even on the way home from the train station. Funding would obviously be the greatest obstacle. Perhaps the finances could be put together by a combination of Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce, the residents association, Chicago Park District, fundraisers, etc.
2. There needs to be stricter enforcement at the traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. Many families pass through the downtown area going to school/ stores etc and are completely ignored by traffic. This could be alleviated to some extent by the installation of cameras, as has been done elsewhere on the Northwest side.
These, and other ideas could turn the Edgebrook downtown into a lively prosperous area if enough will exists among business and residents alike.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this topic, Alan. Personally, I love Giddings Plaza, and the idea of an exclusive pedestrian zone with no, or very minimal car traffic allowed. The challenge for downtown/uptown Edgebrook with that is that the area in question is encompassed by at least three major traffic arteries (Devon/Caldwell/Central). Whereas Lincoln Ave. between Leland Ave. and Lawrence Ave. is a very quiet stretch of road (with a speed limit of 5 miles per hour, if memory serves). As it is, during rush hour in Edgebrook, all three streets are burdened by very heavy traffic (add to that a complete traffic stop for long stretches when trains go by). What complicates matters more is the fact that all the commercial/retail space in downtown Edgebrook faces at least two of these three major arteries (Devon and – to a lesser extent – Central Ave.)
I’m not privy to any details, but I would imagine that the owners/purchasers of the former parking lot at Devon/Central probably had a decent ROI in mind, and as such, I just can’t envision a Giddings Plaza type of setup over there. A mixed-use building is probably more like what they have in mind. But maybe I’m wrong.
The area where something like Giddings Plaza could physically be possible in Edgebrook would be on Kinzua, but the problem there is that the majority of space is taken up by Metra parking and public parking spaces. Short of that, the Giddings Plaza vibe can be found in the area around the Edgebrook ice cream shoppe/Edgebrook Library during the summer. But, on second thought, … not really.
Markus,
I agree this proposal is a long shot.
The traffic in the area would certainly be a challenge. But I think that’s precisely the reason why we need a pedestrian friendly area like this. It’s highly unlikely that Edgebrook will ever have the buzz of Lincoln Square (nor do I think most people would want it), but perhaps it could be made just a little more lively.
Agreed also that the owner is understandably expecting to profit from his/ her investment. My thought was that the city might be persuaded to buy / lease the site at market rates (possibly with some help from the Chamber of Commerce). In the current economic environment, one would hope that a reasonable price could be negotiated.
It may seem unlikely that the city would come up with funds for something like this. But if there is enough will I think it’s not impossible. As an example, I believe the cost for the Sauganash Trail was in the region of $1m. Admittedly it was a very different project, but it shows that money can be found for projects that will beautify a neighborhood and enhance a community.
Mayor Daley was a champion of pedestrian friendly projects, green spaces etc. Hopefully that legacy will continue in the city.
Perhaps our Alderman could be persuaded to take up the cause.
I would venture to guess that with a new mayor of Chicago, and a new alder(wo)man for the 41st Ward, at this point, pretty much all civic / capital expense projects are probably up in the air. I’m not even sure if the Metra underpass restoration / beautification project along Lehigh Ave. would still be funded adequately.
P.S. according to the “Reporter”, the owner has been considering putting a Dunkin Donuts there. But it’s not clear whether he would get approval for this.
I drive by that intersection every day, as my office is just right around the corner. At the moment, there is a sign from a real estate company hanging from the entrance chains, advertising the property for “lease”. I wonder whether the owner of the lot is interested in having the various businesses along Devon and Central Ave. pitch in collectively to rent the lot as parking space for their patrons, until he is ready for “Phase 2″ which could be a commercial building? A Dunkin D – if it were to come to fruition – would be a classic showdown: Right across the street from Starbucks! And then there is “Intelligentsia” of course, on Kinzua, right next to the spa. Who says uptown Edgebrook is boring?
P.S.: I’d much rather drink DD coffee than SB.
P.S.S: Note to lot owner: We don’t need another nail salon in Edgebrook.
A related discussion going on right now about this topic on EveryBlock Chicago.