So…Hoification?

Is it an adjective or a noun? Has your neighborhood been SoHoed? Would you recognize SoHoification if it happened on your street? This has been a hot topic among bloggers talking about Wicker Park over the last year or so. The rapid pace at which the neighborhood has gone from edgy, artsy outpost to urban chic hot spot, certainly has spun a few heads.

Of course, Wicker Park is just the latest Chicago example of a trend that happens so frequently in urban neighborhoods it has become a cliche. An area that has been long overlooked or cast aside, with great old architecture and a unique urban perspective starts to become attractive to artists, who don’t mind stepping over junkies in doorways to get to their apartments, as long as they are cheap.

More artists arrive. Soon there are funky, cool shops opening, coffee joints with good food and rustic charm, unique eateries that start to get noticed by the media. Then more people move in, bigger budgets, and after that the first wave of condominium development.

The next thing you know Starbucks are sprouting, MTV and Top Chef are filming down the street, and that nice flat you had for a reasonable price is now way too expensive to afford, oh and your neighbors summer in Marseille.

This phenomenon is also sometimes referred to as the SoHo Effect. So has Wicker Park/Bucktown been SoHoed? And is that a bad thing?

Certainly with trendy new stores opening, such as Scoop NYC and Malabar, high-end designers and shoppers are thrilled to have chic places to peddle their wares and to go looking for hard-to-find designers. Trendy shoppers need fashionable food, so nearby you can find one of the hottest restaurants in the city–Schwa.

The positive aspect of these new shops and restaurants is an influx of tax dollars to support the base of the neighborhood, and increased foot traffic, which helps support other local businesses. On the downside, the more attractive a neighborhood becomes to home owners, the higher rents and mortgages become, and the possibilities for homogeneity increase.

Next time we’ll take a look at the flip side of Wicker Park: The old-school dives and hangouts that have made the neighborhood popular with artists, architects and writers for decades. And we’ll try to find some unique housing that has managed to retain its vintage charm even with the onslaught of cookie cutter condominiums.