There is something to be said about having a beautiful town, and it is something the Village of Oak Park values greatly. I respect some of the motives behind “beautifying” a neighborhood. Once a community loses its culture and values due to gentrification, it’s hard to return to what it once was. Breymaier doesn’t want us down the line to be asking ourselves “What could we have done?” to prevent loss of the neighborhood’s current feel. While affordability isn’t the most important factor in diversity, gentrification can make neighborhoods less inclusive.Ī nice neighborhood is a good thing, but a neighborhood can be desirable and still affordable. He believes this development can tear away at the community, as communities that are gentrified can become more elitist, less equitable, and lose values and identity.

“It’s real Oak Parkers being priced out,” said Breymaier, who is also a South Oak Parker. On top of the obvious environmental cost of building these new houses, former Director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center Rob Breymaier says homes that were “naturally affordable” due to size and age are being replaced by houses that are much more expensive. More likely to happen is that the only ones they can afford will be quickly bought by house flippers, who will be able to pay a lot more, and in cash, which is appealing to sellers. Oak Park renters who are looking to buy a house might not be able to afford one anymore. People who were hoping to move to Oak Park to provide their children with a better education or community may no longer be able to rent apartments or houses in South Oak Park due to rising property values. Clinton house, which sold for $980,000 last year. However, according to the April 2019 Wednesday Journal article “South Oak Park the new Bucktown? Local developer says yes,” Mark Meagher of Maher Development believes that South Oak Park “is ready for a continued stream of new homes,” with prices reaching “far beyond” the 1112 S. It wouldn’t be an issue if it were just a few new houses. The new houses are always at least two stories and tend to be much more expensive than neighboring houses. It is happening right now to the house next door to mine. This happened to two houses on the block up from mine. It seems as though every smaller, older house put on the market is quickly bought by a developer. It was quite shocking for me to hear that a house a few blocks away was put on the market for $1 million.

Recently, there have been a few new houses and rehabbed properties popping up around the neighborhood. For families that perhaps cannot afford to send their children to private schools in Chicago, South Oak Park can be an opportunity for them to rent or buy while providing their children an excellent education. In a town with Frank Lloyd Wright houses and million-dollar properties, South Oak Park is where many middle-class families live (according to, the median sale price of homes was $385,000 in the past year). What’s important about South Oak Park is that it’s relatively affordable. And there are some in between, like my family’s red shingled two-bedroom bungalow. We also have a lot of old, dirty stucco houses. Sure, there are some huge, brightly colored historical houses. Past the bridge, it doesn’t really “look” like Oak Park anymore. Some Oak Parkers don’t know the village continues for several blocks south of the Eisenhower Expressway.

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