-Little Italy

The Little Italy neighborhood is within MLS area 8028. It is located on the Near West side of Chicago. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Morgan Street on the east — bracketed by Harrison Street on the north and Roosevelt Road on the south. It is hemmed by the Illinois Medical District and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

While there are several Italian-American communities that thrive within the Chicago metropolitan area, Taylor Street, the port-of-call for Chicago’s Italian American immigrants, inherited the title of Chicago’s “Little Italy. While Italian immigrants settled all over the city in the 19th century, the area now known as Little Italy saw the greatest concentration. In the past few decades, rents in the area have risen due to an influx of condominiums, townhouses, and the proximity of Little Italy to UIC and the Loop. In the last few decades, home values went up to nearly three times their value before 1990.

The Little Italy community is densely populated and diverse as well as a proud neighborhood; there are landmarks around the area that showcase Italian nationalism and culture. While many of the inhabitants of the area are students attending the University of Illinois at Chicago, there remain a significant number of Italian families living in the area. As the neighborhood becomes more affluent, young professionals have also begun to buy condominium space in the area.