$428,021Average Value$330Average Price per Sq Ft5Homes For Sale
Centerpiece park and retail hub on the west side of Evanston
On the western fringes of the Chicago suburb of Evanston, close to the North Shore Channel, is the neighborhood of Southwest Evanston. While the eastern half of the area is mainly residential, west of Hartrey Avenue are shopping centers filled with big-box stores. At the center of the neighborhood is the spacious James Park, a hotbed of recreational activity where more amenities are in the works. “In Evanston as a whole, more attention is being given to parks,” says Mary Rosinski, a broker with Coldwell Banker Realty and a member of the City of Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Board. “There’s been neglect in the past, and we’re changing that.”
James Park amenities
During warm weather, James Park is hopping with soccer and baseball leagues, which use the park’s five soccer fields and eight baseball diamonds. The park also has six tennis courts, three of which currently configured for pickleball. “There are plans to add 15 exclusive pickleball courts,” Rosinski says. That’s expected to happen by the summer of 2025. A community garden at James Park contains ten planting beds open for residents to use through a lottery system from mid-March through mid-November. Another amenity in the park is a 65-foot hill that, until the 1960s, was a landfill. Dubbed Mount Trashmore, it’s a popular sledding hill in the winter today and, during warmer weather, attracts runners and hikers. Next to the park is the TOCA Soccer & Sports Center, where youth and adult indoor soccer leagues practice and play, as well as youth flag football and track and field clubs. The space can also be rented out for birthday parties.
Channelside Park is alongside the North Shore Channel and has multiple soccer fields, a skate park and a dog park. The North Shore Channel Trail goes through Channelside Park and continues on the west side of the channel for another few miles toward Chicago. More indoor recreation options are at the Robert Crown Community Center, a large indoor recreation facility that opened in 2020 and houses a public library branch. All facilities within the community center are free for the public to use.
James Park has both tennis and pickleball markings on the outdoor courts.
Brummel Richmond Park in Evanston, IL.
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Retail in the western part of Southwest Evanston
The western half of the neighborhood is dominated by shopping centers with plenty of big-box store choices between Main and Howard Streets. Main Street Marketplace has a Sam’s Club, Marshalls and Planet Fitness, while The Home Depot, PetSmart and Aldi are part of another shopping area that fronts Oakton Street. Target, Best Buy and Jewel-Osco are south along Howard Street in the Evanston Center strip mall. Dining-out options include Hamachi Sushi Bar and El Pueblito Mexican Grill.
Retail options in Lincolnwood Mall include popular brands like Old Navy.
Best Buy is just down the road for from Southwest Evanston at Evanston Center.
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Mid-20th century designs in Southwest Evanston
Cape Cod, ranch-style and split-level homes from the mid-century period are most common and generally range from $250,000 and $600,000. A few townhouse developments line Dodge Avenue, a busy north-south thoroughfare. Only a few units in these developments have recently sold, with the two most recent going for $200,000 and $235,000. The neighborhood has a classic suburban grid layout with little space between houses. The CAP crime score is a 2, below the national average of 4. The First Street Foundation, which tracks environmental factors in neighborhoods, reports that some homes in the neighborhood are in a major flood zone due to the proximity of the North Shore Channel.
Many homes in Southwest Evanston are surrounded by mature trees.
Cape Cod style homes bring a charming aura to Southwest Evanston.
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Feeding into Evanston Township High School
Dawes Elementary School is on the east side of James Park. The school has a 10-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio. Niche gives it a B-plus rating. Chute Middle School gets the same grade. Students then advance to the A-plus-rated Evanston Township High School, with its iconic castle-like architecture. The school has been at the location on Dodge Avenue for 100 years. Athletic teams are known as the Wildkits, a younger version of the Wildcat mascot at Northwestern University, with its campus just 2 miles northeast of the neighborhood. The university is Evanston’s largest employer and one of the country's top research schools.
Chute Middles School is a public school in Evanston, IL.
Evanston Township High School is has many honor-level courses offered to students.
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CTA Transportation serves Evanston
Since Evanston is just across the border from Chicago, CTA trains and buses serve the city. The Main Street station in downtown Evanston is only a couple of miles east and is where the Metra commuter rail stops and the Purple Line for the CTA elevated train. Evanston is only 13 miles north of downtown Chicago. Motorists can reach the city center via Interstates 94 and 90. O’Hare International Airport is a 12-mile trip, and the closest hospital is Ascension St. Francis, a mile to the east.
GreatSchools:
The GreatSchools Rating helps parents compare schools within a state based on a variety of school quality indicators and provides a helpful picture of how effectively each school serves all of its students. Ratings are on a scale of 1 (below average) to 10 (above average) and can include test scores, college readiness, academic progress, advanced courses, equity, discipline and attendance data. We also advise parents to visit schools, consider other information on school performance and programs, and consider family needs as part of the school selection process.
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Southwest Evanston Demographics and Home Trends
On average, homes in Southwest Evanston, Evanston sell after 17 days on the market compared to the national average of 53 days. The median sale price for homes in Southwest Evanston, Evanston over the last 12 months is $432,000, up 19% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
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