Downtown Homeownership Surges in Chicago

"Chicago's downtown housing market leads the country in a widespread revival of residential urban centers, a study set to be released Tuesday reports.

During the 1990s, the city's downtown population jumped by a third to 72,843 residents, according to a report from the Washington-based Brookings Institution, which does not account for the latest wave of condominium development in the Loop, South Loop, Streeterville and nearby neighborhoods.

More significantly, the rate of homeownership downtown increased by 1,500 percent between 1970 and 2000, with four out of every 10 residents owning their own homes. That trend is essential for cities striving to create vibrant '24-hour' downtown neighborhoods, said Eugenie Birch, author of the study, which is based on U.S. Census Bureau data."