The recently opened 606 park/trail seems to already be affecting local real estate values. Looking to buy nearby before prices edge higher? Consider one of two newly listed condos a quarter-mile away, in the same four-unit building on Wilmot Avenue in Bucktown, a block from the Western Blue Line station. Built in 2008, each of these modern industrial lofts boasts 2,000 square feet, floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies—and astounding 22-foot ceiling heights in the living areas.

Unit 3, a two-bedroom with large living and dining spaces that takes up much of the building's second floor, is listed for $525,000, $65,000 less than its original sales price. The ask jumps to $699,000 for Unit 4, a duplex penthouse with three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and an entire south-facing roof deck that covers 900 square feet.

Jim and Emily Zouras, the current and only owners of the penthouse, have constructed an outdoor living room on that deck, complete with shelter, an all-weather flat-screen TV, a fire pit, long planters, and a fixed grill and bar. The downside: a partial view of the drive-through McDonald's and El tracks below. (The builders cleverly used the stairwell that leads to the deck to block much of that unlovely view.)

Close by is another area that draws late-night eaters—the intersection of Western and Armitage, the nexus of the all-night taco universe. If that fact doesn't thrill you, drown your sorrows in a hot-fudge sundae: the area also has Margie’s, a 94-year-old candy and ice cream diner.