"They used to think it was nowhere," Leon says. "I remember my father’s reaction when I took him to see the model. He said, it’s gorgeous, but why the hell would anyone want to live here? In his memory it was a fish market, and no one lived here."

The elder Leon made a reasonable point. While there was no longer any fish in the immediate vicinity, neither were there any people. China Club Lofts was the first substantial residential development in what is now marketed as "the Fulton River District," a corner of the West Loop bounded roughly by Randolph, Grand, the Chicago River and the Kennedy Expressway.

The neighborhood, if that term can be used loosely, is still extremely sparse compared to most, although it’s downright crowded relative to January of 1997, when Leon moved in, midway through construction. Since then, developments such as Randolph Place, Kinzie Park, Kinzie Station and Clinton Street Lofts have added hundreds of residents to blocks that once had a population of zero.

At least, Leon now can say, the neighborhood has neighbors. It still does not have the basic amenities that define a neighborhood, but residents are hopeful that services are on their way.

"They’re building everywhere," says Leon, 34, an attorney at Winston & Strawn. "We still don’t have stores and restaurants, but it’s not that big a deal. One thing we don’t have is a convenience store, but Kinzie Station’s highrise (next door) will add to the mass of people and make it economically viable."

Like hundreds of his neighbors and thousands of Chicagoans living in new neighborhoods, Leon is a new kind of "urban pioneer." There was a time when that name implied gentrification and displacement of long-time neighborhood residents, and in many cases it still does. But the bulk of new construction in the city now occurs in "new" neighborhoods, formerly industrial areas that had been all but abandoned. An earlier exodus of industry from aging and inefficient manufacturing and office buildings laid the groundwork, and the explosive popularity of loft apartments has provided the catalyst.

From River North to the edge of Chinatown, once-industrial areas are becoming new neighborhoods. The transformation is not fast or smooth. It carries numerous pitfalls as well as advantages, involving everything from convenience and safety to investment value and parks. Interviews with pioneers show that life on the edge is appealing to many home buyers, and that if one virtue is required in such a purchase, it’s patience.

"We really don’t have much in the area, but it would be wonderful if some restaurants emerged," says Cathy Westfall, who bought a loft with her husband at 1801 S. Michigan Ave., on the Near South Side. "We do wish there were restaurants and shops. But I knew that there weren’t when we bought here, and we have a car so it’s pretty easy to get wherever we need to."

Given the price of surrounding homes and the gradually growing density, Westfall, a 32-year-old manager at Interstate Insurance, is hopeful that new businesses will open while she still owns her unit. Pioneers in neighborhoods such as the Fulton River District and Near South say they bought their units knowing there were few services or amenities in the immediate area but that they were willing to wait, confident that growing density will eventually mean more businesses.

"About half a block south they rehabbed a building and built townhomes; across the street they’re building condos or townhomes, and some are moving in on 16th Street, so more people are moving in, but there still is not a restaurant or Starbucks, or anywhere to get a cup of coffee," says Jocelyn Perry, 28, who owns a duplex at 1801 S. Michigan. "You have to look toward the future and see that things will come and develop, especially when there are $550,000 houses a couple blocks away."

Perry, who works in product development for a steel company, estimates that the Near South will have more businesses and a higher comfort level in two years. She also sees safety, which she says isn’t bad now, improving by then.

"There is an open lot next to my building, and the owner is not willing to sell it yet, so people hang out there," Perry says. "There is a building next door to that with random people coming in and out all the time. I don’t think it will be that way for long, but I don’t feel as safe walking here as I do walking in Lincoln Park with my girlfriends."

Using the same example for comparison, Leon says he feels every bit as safe in the Fulton River District as he would in Lincoln Park. The perception of safety, however, can be low in areas such as the West Loop and South Loop, where streets are empty after hours and massive commercial buildings create an imposing if not eerie atmosphere on some dark streets.

But residents say that for every pitfall in a new neighborhood, there seems to be an advantage. The sparse streets that mean few amenities and a feeling of isolation also mean that traffic is light on weekends and parking is not an issue.

"It’s not crowded like Lincoln Park, so my company doesn’t have to drive around for an hour," Perry says. "I wasn’t just looking at the cost of my unit but also how easy it was for people to park when they visited."

And because the city and neighborhood groups have set strict parking requirements for new developments, it’s unlikely these growing areas will ever face the kind of parking crunch common on the north lakefront. Virtually all buyers in these new developments seem to have at least one parking space in or near their buildings - not that they need their cars every day.

"It’s been a big switch, but I’m ecstatic," Westfall says. "We’re very happy. We’ve reduced our commute time so much that we can walk to work. It takes me about half an hour to walk to work in the Loop, and my husband, who works in the West Loop, also walks. It takes him about 45 minutes."

Perry wishes that she had more places to walk her dog, a 110-pound Akita named Kaz, citing a common complaint about new neighborhoods - a lack of parks.

"There’s aren’t great places to walk him," Perry says. "It’s hard because there are not a lot of parks, and where there are, people let their dogs run around off the leash even though it’s against the law. With his breed, he doesn’t get along with other dogs."

Westfall says she deals with the preponderance of asphalt in her neighborhood by cutting across Lake Shore Drive on her walk home and strolling through the landscaped museum campus. Some buyers say they actually like the lack of parks and shops, hoping it will postpone the day that all-important sign descends on their neighborhood.

"I like that it’s close to the Loop, that it’s very urban and `warehousey’ in that area," says Kate Maguire, a high school English teacher who makes a reverse commute to work in the suburbs from her loft in the Fulton River District. "There is a shortage of conveniences, but I prefer not to have that kind of stuff right there. I don’t want the neighborhood that built-up. I dread a Starbucks coming in."

But Maguire sees the writing on the wall. Already, South Loop density has grown enough that Dominick’s has opened a large store at Roosevelt and Canal, and the company is opening another in the West Loop, at Halsted and Madison. Mayor Richard Daley has started a campaign to use tax increment financing money and other enticements to encourage current service businesses to keep longer hours downtown and to lure new shops and restaurants to the area to serve a growing population.

Perhaps the biggest advantage to living life on the edge, according to home buyers, is the ability to get much more space for the money.

"I was willing to sacrifice a lot because I was getting a pretty good sized unit for a relatively cheap price, knowing in a couple of years I’ll be able to make a larger profit," says Perry, whose duplex at 1801 S. Michigan is around 1,400 square feet. "Some comparable units are going for $300,000 in more developed areas, which is a lot more than I paid."

Many buyers consider the potential profit of buying in an incipient location and selling when the neighborhood has matured. Of course, with greater potential comes greater risk.

"There was a risk that nothing else would be built and we’d be an island out here," Leon says of China Club Lofts. "But when I came they were probably 40 percent sold out, and I thought that was a sign."

The upside of the growth that has taken place since Leon moved in is rising property values and density. The downside is increased noise and dust and, for Leon, a view being ruined by a new highrise that’s underway outside his window.

"We’re surrounded on three sides by construction," Leon says. "Right in front of my window, the highrise for Kinzie Station is going up. I considered the possibility of something being built there when I moved in, but the developer told us it would be townhomes. Someone didn’t tell us the truth - big surprise. But I don’t think it has affected resales."

Some of the quirky benefits of living in a new neighborhood are not apparent until buyers are settled in. Residents of the Fulton River District do have access to a Starbucks and a deli and other amenities, but they’re hidden away in the office towers along the river (and they tend to shut down at the end of the workday). Homeowners in the West Loop might not have a full service grocery store yet, but they can buy fresh fish, produce and other goods at the Randolph Fulton Market, where some wholesale operations are also open to the public.

What’s the secret advantage to living at 1801 S. Michigan?