Chicago real estate in the city’s less prosperous South Side is witnessing the effects of a new wave of gentrification. The Chicago condo boom that consumed large swaths of the North Side has finally moved south, and local residents are being left to fend for themselves in the wake of unprecedented numbers of condo conversions.
The pressure for many Chicago real estate owners to convert their apartment buildings into high-end condos is creating a very difficult situation for poorer residents. Many people who live in these apartment buildings have very little time to get out, and very limited resources to be able to make such a quick move.
Those who aren’t being forced to leave are left to contend with higher rents as the supply of affordable apartments dwindles.
The Chicago Maroon reports that many of these changes to the South-side Chicago real estate scene are the result of gentrification, as Hyde Park residents begin to push out into surrounding neighborhoods. Hyde Park is home to the University of Chicago, and most of the people in this community are much more affluent than other local residents.
