West Chesterfield is a small, tight-knit south side community near Chicago State University. The neighborhood boomed after the Illinois Central railroad began operation nearby over 100 years ago, and it has maintained strong ties to the local entrepreneurial business community ever since. West Chesterfield also has a proud tradition of working hard and maintaining safe and stable surroundings for its residents. As the population ages, the neighborhood is continually innovating to maintain its vitality and strength.
Once a swampy area known as Mud Lake—more popular with hunters than humans looking for habitation—West Chesterfield later developed into a small agrarian community on the outskirts of the city in the mid 1800s. Industrial development started slowly and it wasn’t until the turn of the century, when steel mills started crowding the lakefront, that European immigrants began settling in the area to fill the open jobs.
By the early 1900s, West Chesterfield had a population of just 1,800, but the development of the nearby Illinois Central railroad yard caused a bump in growth. The 1920s brought the most dramatic increase as new residents, primarily European immigrants from Scandinavia and Austria, as well as Irish immigrants, moved into the neighborhood, causing the population to more than triple in the decade that spanned the 1920s. Housing, at the time, mostly consisted of small frame and brick dwellings and two-flat homes, many of which are still standing today.
As with many other Chicago neighborhoods, racial transition occurred in West Chesterfield quite rapidly. In 1950 the African American population of Chesterfield was less than 1 percent, but by 1960 it had jumped to 63 percent. Although there were some rough periods of cultural clashing, steered by hate talk and even a few physical attacks on African American property, the area did not see the extreme violence that scarred other nearby neighborhoods on Chicago’s south side. Some credit the community organizations and churches in West Chesterfield for helping the neighborhood to progress in a positive direction during a time of turmoil. In the 1950s, middle-class African American families came to the area in huge numbers, drawn to the good schools, community organization, and abundance of employment. The demographic shift and steady labor base attracted several large businesses to the area, including Johnson Products (the company responsible for Ultra Sheen and Afro Sheen) and several successful banks.
In the 1990s, West Chesterfield saw increasing problems due to an aging population and gang-related crime. Luckily, community leaders and residents have worked together to devote time and energy to a number of revitalization projects designed to ensure that today it remains a comfortably solid middle-class neighborhood and a good place to raise a family.
West Chesterfield is a family-oriented neighborhood of small bungalows, ranches and brick two-flats. The lots along the residential streets typically yield small yards in front and back, flanked by a side driveway that leads to a garage behind the house. While some of the properties are better maintained than others, the homes in West Chesterfield tend to be surrounded by trim lawns with plenty of greenery and wide sidewalks. The housing styles vary from house to the house with designs from the early and mid 1900s represented in addition to newer models bringing the neighborhood into the 21st century.
The close-knit community has developed over generations and many homeowners have watched their children grow up here. Students at nearby Chicago State University live in the neighborhood, as well, which has helped to offset the increasing age of West Chesterfield. The smaller neighborhood of West Chesterfield straddles the two larger community areas of Chatham and Roseland/Rosemoor. Although the residential real estate market throughout this section of town is relatively similar, West Chesterfield encompasses a combination of property values that reflect those of the surrounding regions. The average sales price for a three-bedroom single-family detached home in West Chesterfield is around $200,000, with some properties selling for as much as $635,000. Larger houses in the neighborhood typically sell for a little over $300,000, on average, but again, there is a span in prices that goes up to the high $800,000s and drops below $100,000—for something that needs a great deal of work to be habitable.
As for multi-unit housing, the options in West Chesterfield include mostly townhomes, half-duplexes, and low-rise and vintage courtyard condominium buildings. The average sales price for a one- or two-bedroom unit is about $137,000, but some end up selling for somewhere in the mid $200,000s. New construction condos are also going up in the area with higher price tags (several in the $300,000s) but most of these units include a garage parking spot.
The average sale price of a home in West Chesterfield 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 West Chesterfield sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The average number of days a home in West Chesterfield 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 West Chesterfield 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 West Chesterfield 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 West Chesterfield sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
The total number of listings in West Chesterfield 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 West Chesterfield sign up for the trends report below or contact your Dream Town broker.
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