Students were almost entirely absent from the mostly gray-haired crowd that came out to spend an “Evening with Eli” on Tuesday, May 6. Sponsored by the Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, the event was a follow-up to an October conversation between local residents and Eli Ungar, founder and president of Antheus Capital and associated MAC Properties, Hyde Park’s second-largest landholder. About seventy people showed up at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club to take part in this conversation, which began with a brief PowerPoint by MAC Director of Community Development Peter Cassell. In it, he outlined the company’s recent successes in revamping “uninhabitable” buildings, told its “exciting economic development story” of hiring 130 full-time Chicago employees, and explained recent rent hikes by linking them to the broader picture of condo conversions and the mortgage crisis. Cassell also described Solstice on the Park, a soon-to-be-built condo at 56th and Cornell with modern architecture and a number of “environmentally progressive” features. With MAC’s positive contributions fresh in audience members’ minds, Ungar took the stage, opening the field to their questions. Read the rest of this entry »

Take a good, hard look. This summer will be your last chance to see the Pepperland before its doors close for renovation, marking, as one resident put it, “the end of an era.” The legendary twelve-unit apartment building faces an interior courtyard on all four sides, home to forty-some University of Chicago students, mostly undergraduates, now including many members of the UofC’s Frisbee team. Over the years it’s been home to myriad groups, and served as a hangout for many in the Hyde Park community. But it doesn’t take much to notice the dilapidated mess in the Pepperland. Between ancient electrical systems and “Coonjo” (the family of raccoons intermittently inhabiting the space between walls), it was time to renovate. In true Pepperland form, word about the fate of the apartment spread via neighbors meandering in and out of the maze of units and passing the sad news. What started as a rumor can be traced back to an informal mention by a maintenance worker, which was confirmed by a MAC Property Management agent in early April. Resident Cassie Betts relayed the frustrating story of how MAC technically still has yet to inform them they’ll be kicked out this fall, with one exception: a wilted notice (“FYI: Pepperland is Closing on Sept. 30 for Remodeling”) posted on the north side of the building in garish silver Magic Marker. Residents generally harbor contempt towards MAC at having not been told “straight up” about the Pepperland’s fate, not at the fact that it is closing (widely viewed as a necessary measure). But onwards and upwards: north, to be exact, to 55th and Cornell. Read the rest of this entry »

In the first part of this issue’s feature, we introduce some of the basics of apartment-hunting.

Finding an apartment in Hyde Park can be a tumultuous journey, full of pitfalls and unexpected turns. The best way to suit up for apartment hunting season is to plan ahead and familiarize yourself with the options available. High-rise or owner-occupied? Studio or five bedroom? Near to campus or far away? Tiny windowless box or large spacious sunroom? Read the rest of this entry »

In the second part of this issue’s feature, we profile the major real estate companies serving Hyde Park. Read the rest of this entry »