Near West Side

Sub Neighborhoods:

Greektown, Little Italy, Medical Center, Near West Side, Fulton River District, University Village, Tri-Taylor

Community Information:

The Near West Side is located on the west side of Chicago, Illinois (west of the Chicago River), adjacent to the downtown central business district (the Loop). Once a bubbling cauldron of European immigrants, its business districts:–(Greek Town, Maxwell Street and Little Italy)–remain as vestiges of the mass migration from southern Europe during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth century.

Little Italy encompasses about 12 blocks on Taylor Street and the nearby area. The neighborhood lies between the Illinois Medical District and the UIC campus. Many suburban Italians, whose roots trace back to Taylor Street—the port-of-call for the majority of Italians who immigrated to Chicago from the shores of southern Italy—maintain a regular pilgrimage to “the old neighborhood.”

University Village is a renamed near west Chicago community consisting of newly constructed residential and retail properties. The community is home to mixed-income residents from ethnically diverse socio-economic backgrounds as a result of immigration, urban renewal, gentrification and the growth of the resident student and faculty population of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Greektown is located roughly between Van Buren and Madison Streets, along Halsted Street, within the Near West Side community area of Chicago.  The neighborhood is known for its plethora of excellent Greek restaurants, including the famous Parthenon, and its 24 hour foodspots.

The West Loop makes up the north central area of the Near West Side, west of Chicago’s Loop. It is bordered by the Kennedy Expressway to the east, Grand Avenue on the north, the Eisenhower Expressway to the south, and Ashland Avenue to the west. The neighborhood also extends to the Chicago River south of Madison Street.

The Fulton River District makes up the north east area of the Near West Side, just west of the Loop. It is a former manufacturing and current transportation corridor turned residential neighborhood. The neighborhood is made up of warehouses that have been converted to loft condominiums, new construction high rise condominiums and apartments, high rise and mid rise business offices, retail and restaurants.

Recent Listings in this Neighborhood: