We focused this week’s front-page story about Taylor Street on two real estate development companies that have invested millions to dramatically improve two buildings on that Near West Side business corridor.

The building at the southeast corner of Taylor and Racine (now owned by Estate Properties) and the southwest corner of Taylor and Loomis (now owned by Starbuck Capital) have gone through gut rehabs. The owners of each structure added windows on the Taylor side of them. They’ve brought underutilized buildings that had largely faded into the background on Taylor Street back to life.

We wish both of the owners the best of luck leasing up their properties in what remains a difficult economy. Taylor and Loomis is a bit ahead of the curve, with a new café on its way.

Good for them — and good for us.

Like many observers of Chicago’s neighborhoods, we hope these two projects, and the other restaurants slated for Taylor Street, signal a turning of the corner for neighborhood retail, particularly on the Near West Side.

There’s a lot of uncertainty remaining in the economy — a vexing job market, foreclosures and uncertainty in the for-sale side of the housing world. Should the spate of projects on Taylor have wider implications of recovery, well then, thank goodness for it. We could all use a bit of better news these days.