Armitage Withers, Next Up: Bucktown

By vouchey in News on Aug 30, 2004 6:19PM

It was only a matter of time, but the death knells for Armitage Avenue trendiness have officially begun. Once the bleeding edge of uber-hip boutique shopping in Chicago, rents seem to have finally caught up with the Armitage-Halsted shopping area in Lincoln Park, reports Craine's Chicago Business today.

Sure the area kinda jumped the shark when Baby Gap moved in to the 2000 N. Halsted block, but quite a few places hung on, like Lori's shoes and Sage Chicago. Now with the influx of Banana Republic, three bank branches and soon Barney's New York, the little guys just can't afford rents any more. "The higher rents are not what the entrepreneurs are able to deal with, and nationals find the area attractive," says Jacqueline C. Hayes, president of Chicago-based retail brokerage Jacqueline Hayes & Associates Ltd.

Sure you could rail about this, but this just seems to be the result of the march of time. Back in the 60's, 900 W. Armitage was a Latino nieghborhood. Interesting neighborhoods are usually unknown, secretive discoveries. Then, when they get popular, they seem to lose their interestingness, right?