Kenwood

Located between 43rd Street and Hyde Park Boulevard on the north and south, and Lake Shore Drive and Cottage Grove Avenue on the east and west. The President owns a Georgian mansion in Kenwood. The area originally developed as a suburb of Chicago with industry giants such as Julius Rosenwald, Sears founder, who started building their lavish mansions in the mid-1850s. Influential architects who designed houses in the district are: George Maher, Benjamin Marshall, Howard Van Doren Shaw, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Collections of architectural styles, ranging from Italinate, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne, Georgian and Prairie School.

Today, Kenwood is a mix of old mansions, medium sized homes, vintage flat apartments, some of which have been converted to condos. This area is known as the Lake Forest of the South Side.

Attractions

Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) is located in Kenwood at 5020 S. Cornell Avenue. It is a visual arts center and has the oldest alternative exhibition space in the Chicago.

The University of Chicago dominates the physical and cultural landscape of Hyde Park and South Kenwood.

Restaurants

Try the Golden Fish, Italian Fiesta Pizzeria or The Lakeshore Café.  Since there are very few restaurants and shops most people go downtown or south to Hyde Park.

Real Estate

Kenwood real estate has been somewhat undervalued compared to its neighbor Hyde Park.  It has seen some steady price inflation in the real estate boom years because many home buyers found themselves priced out of Hyde Park to the south.  Kenwood is definitely starting to recapture its reputation of a popular high end neighborhood.  It's an eclectic mix of architectures.

Two bedroom entry condos go for approximately $175,000 and a four bedroom red-brick Victorian row house goes for around $365,000. You will find many 19th and early 20th-century homes, in good condition as a result of the strong local preservationist movement in the area. A new generation of middle-class homeowners has been renovating the unique one-of-a-kind houses. Today, the blocks between 47th and 51st streets (north-south) and Blackstone and Drexel boulevards (east-west) are great for walking tours. You will find broad and shady streets with these newly restored mansions.

According to trulia.com 'The median sales price for homes in Kenwood for Nov 08 to Jan 09 was $282,000. This represents a decline of 12.7%, or $41,000, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 18.8% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have appreciated 70.9% over the last 5 years in Kenwood, Chicago.

The median sales price of $282,000 for Kenwood is 18.74% higher than the median sales price for Chicago IL. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in Kenwood was $380,647 for the week ending Feb 18, which represents a decline of 0.3%, or $1,071 compared to the prior week and a decline of 6.7%, or $27,208 compared to the week ending Jan 28. Average price per square foot for homes in Kenwood was $371 in the most recent quarter, which is 172.79% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in Chicago.'

Demographics

19,120 population
4.1% pop. growth since 2000
35 median age

 

Income

Per capita income: $28,138

Illinois per capita income: $24,795

Average family income: $75,112

Illinois average family income: $74,622

 

Community

29.3% own property

70.7% rented property

77.7% 5 years+ residents

 

Ethnicity

White 16.4%

Black 76.1%

Hispanic 1.6%

Asian 4.3%