Crescent Heights sells big South Loop resi complex

Crescent Heights has found a buyer for its South Loop apartment complex, as it continues to reorganize some of its Chicago investment portfolio.

The Miami-based Crescent Heights sold The Lex, a 332-unit, two-tower complex at 2138 South Indiana Avenue. The buyer is FPA Multifamily, a San Francisco-based investment firm, according to HFF, the firm that brokered the deal. The deal closed Friday, according to an HFF spokesperson.

The price for the deal was not announced, though Crescent Heights was seeking as much as $120 million when it listed the property in the spring. Crescent Heights bought the building in 2013 for $96 million.

FPA Multifamily’s deal is a big bet in a South Loop market that has an increasing amount of residential construction. The neighborhood will see more than 2,700 new units come online in the next year and a half, consulting firm Integra Realty Resources has said. FPA Multifamily is increasing its footprint in the local market. The company has bought more than 1,900 residential units in the Chicago area last year, according to Crain’s.

For Crescent Heights, the deal represented another step in its changing priorities for its Chicago holdings. This spring, the firm listed for sale its 344-unit Park Michigan tower at 1212 South Michigan Avenue. Horizon Realty bought that building for between $90 and $100 million.

Crescent Heights has also recently sold two other apartment apartment buildings in the downtown area, according to Crain’s.

Despite those sales, the firm is still investing in the local residential market. It is building the NEMA Chicago, formerly known as One Grant Park, a 76-story, with nearly 800 units at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue.