This family-friendly northwest Chicago neighborhood packs quiet residential areas and a number of unique dining venues into its tree-lined streets. Union Ridge is bisected by the main strip of business along Higgins Road where locals go to dine out, get take out, or spend a night out on the town. Of course, we're not talking wild and crazy clubs or five-star French restaurants here, but for a low-key watering hole or nice, sit-down meal, Union Ridge is top-rated. Staying in for an evening is just as sweet around here. Who doesn't love relaxing in a warm house, surrounded by a neatly trimmed, green grass lot on a long, sidewalk-lined block? Security and comfort abound in Union Ridge, affording residents a sense of tranquility and ease that makes a home in this Chicago neighborhood a prize possession.
Nowadays Union Ridge is a pleasant residential neighborhood, but it wasn’t always so densely populated. Back in 1835, there was just one man in the area—a guy named Israel Smith. He constructed a cabin on a ridge and was later joined by his father and brothers. As neighbors began settling the area, they rather sensibly referred to the ridge as 'Smith’s Ridge,' an informal name would ultimately lose out to the title 'Union Ridge' after the Smith clan left the area. But the land the Smiths left behind would eventually make up the neighborhoods of Union Ridge and Big Oaks, nearby Ridgemoor Country Club, and parts of the Harwood Heights suburbs.
Today, the farms, cabins, and even the ridge are gone, and Union Ridge has become a quiet, mostly residential neighborhood. Most businesses, restaurants and stores operate off Higgins Road, the area’s busiest street, which bisects the Chicago neighborhood, leaving ample room for housing. [Back To Top]
Union Ridge facts
Location: About 13 miles northwest of the Loop Boundaries: Kennedy Expressway (I-90) to the north, Nagle Avenue to the east, Foster Avenue to the south and Harlem Avenue to the west Bordering Neighborhoods:Oriole Park, Old Norwood Park, Norwood Park, Jefferson Park, Big Oaks Crime Statistics: go to CLEARMap to search specific streets and areas for crime incidents [Back To Top]
Union Ridge transportation
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Union Ridge Real Estate
Union Ridge adheres to a standard Chicago neighborhood grid layout. The streets are shaded by mature trees, and edged by moderate lawn space. Sidewalks provide plenty of room for walking around and the roads are wide enough to park cars that don’t fit in the alley-accessed garages. The vast majority of housing in Union Ridge is comprised of single-family detached homes that sit on modest lots. You’ll find everything from two-story vintage-style new constructions to long-established raised ranches and bungalows. A number of reasonably sized townhomes also line the often one-way streets of Union Ridge and a few older brick condominiums also dot the area.
The neighborhood’s only exception to the grid pattern is Union Ridge Cemetery, an older community cemetery utilized by people from the area. It may not feature monuments for famous politicians or criminals, but it has a rich history within Union Ridge. Aside from the cemetery, only the businesses of Higgins Road break up the tight rows of housing.
As far as pricing goes, a three-bedroom detached home can cost anywhere from around $300,000 to around $550,000. Adding another bedroom or two raises the price slightly, as the average for four or five bedrooms (within a house, as opposed to some 'nothing but bedrooms' structure) is around $423,000, but several homes top out at over $800,000. Although there are few on the market in this area of Chicago, pricing for a one- or two-bedroom attached unit is around $180,000.
The average sale price of a home in Union Ridge is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average price based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average sale price for the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on Union Ridge sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average number of days a home in Union Ridge spends listed for sale is represented by the chart to the right. The red line indicates the average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window. The blue line indicates the average number of days a home spent on market during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on average market listing times in Union Ridge sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average sale price of a home compared to its listing price in Union Ridge is represented by the chart to the right. The black line indicates the baseline listing price for homes during the time frame selected in the drop-down. The red line indicates the difference between the average listing price and the average sale price during the particular month within that time frame. For more detailed information on Union Ridge sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The total number of listings in Union Ridge is represented in the chart to the right. The red line represents average number of days based on the total time frame selected in the drop-down window The blue bar represents the current number of listings during the particular month of that time frame. For more detailed information on Union Ridge sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
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