Gold Coast Real Estate

Part of a community known as the Near North Side, the Gold Coast of Chicago is an official community of Chicago, recognized by the city. Just north of the Chicago River and the Loop, the central business district of downtown Chicago, the Gold Coast has some of the most expensive homes in the Chicago area, and therefore is a favorite with the well-to-do and those relocating to Chicago with money to spend on some great real estate.

Most of the Gold Coast real estate consists of high rise buildings, some apartments, some condos, and other types of multifamily units and mixed use living areas. Although the exact borders are not clearly defined, in general Gold Coast lies between LaSalle, Dearborn, North, and Division.

Even though the Gold Coast has had some rather meager beginnings in the 1800s, Potter Palmer, owner of the Palmer House dry goods store, built a castle there, and gradually the wealthy followed him to the area and raised property values astronomically. Because of its history throughout the 1800s and 1900s, the Gold Coast Historic District was placed on the list of the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The rich history and background of the area and its surroundings are still celebrated today.

Children of the Gold Coast mainly attend the Chicago Public School district campuses, although some also have access to Ogden School and the highly acclaimed Lincoln Park High School. Many graduates attend DePaul University, which is nearby in Lincoln Park. Another great thing about Gold Coast is the general location--it is close to the city but also on the lake, and has the feeling of being a separate community from the busy city.

The Gold Coast community is actually comprised of smaller neighborhoods that divide the population of around 73,000 into several unique areas. The neighborhoods all have their own distinctive names, histories that formed them, and prices on homes for sale.

Gold Coast Neighborhoods

Goose Island

Divided from the continental areas of Chicago by both the Chicago River and the North Branch Canal, Goose Island is the Chicago River’s only island. An industrial canal that was dug in 1853, Goose Island has occasionally been called the William B. Ogden Island, after the Chicago mayor who built the canal and created the island. It has also been alternately called Kilgubbin, which was the original Irish place of origin of the majority of the island’s original inhabitants.

The Magnificent Mile

This neighborhood actually overlaps the Gold Coast area and Chicago’s downtown. Many of the area’s famous buildings are located in the Magnificent Mile, namely the John Hancock Center, Wrigley Building, and historic register areas such as the Old Chicago Water Tower District and other Chicago landmark buildings. Mainly consisting of upscale shopping, commercial buildings, and residential apartments and condos, much of the area’s highly prestigious real estate is found in the Magnificent Mile, and Chicago real estate owes much of its high average price to this area. Retail establishments like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom call the Magnificent Mile home, as well as many of the world’s famous boutiques such as Cartier and Giorgio Armani. The Magnificent Mile is also home to four of the world’s 85 tallest buildings.

River North

Enclosed by Rush Street, Chicago Avenue, and the Chicago River, this community is known for a very large selection of art galleries. In fact, it has the second-highest number per area in the United States, behind Manhattan. With an abundance of popular nightclubs and bars, as well as great dining establishments and entertainment, River North is also divided into areas, which include what is called the gallery district, a restaurant area known for its themed establishments and tourist restaurants and cafes, and the design district, featuring upscale home décor and furnishings. One of the residential subsections, Kingsbury Park, contains some of the most stunning new residential high rise buildings in Chicago, built around the Kingsbury Park near the Chicago River.

Streeterville

Located just north of the Chicago River, Streeterville is also bordered by Lake Michigan and Michigan Avenue. Named after George Streeter, the man responsible for building up the land by inviting dumping in the area, Streeterville contains some of the most upscale living in the Chicago area, and is also home to fine dining establishments and stores for the wealthy, as well as the School of Law and Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University.

Other neighborhoods in the Gold Coast community include Dearborn Parkway, River West, and State Parkway. In general these many fine neighborhoods make Gold Coast one of the most sought after areas for the well-to-do as well as those who rising to the top professionally.

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