Two large apartment complexes in Wheaton change hands

Two large apartment complexes in Wheaton have new owners after separate deals that saw a total of 1,064 units change hands.

FPA Multifamily bought the 758-unit Wheaton Center property at 2 Wheaton Center while Connor Group bought the 306-unit Wheaton 121 property at 121 North Cross Street, according to Crain’s.

DuPage County records do not yet indicate how much San Francisco-based FPA paid New York-based Edge Principal Advisors for Wheaton Center, but Ohio-based Connor Group paid Atlanta-based Invesco $72 million for Wheaton 121.

That marks a big loss for Invesco, which paid $98.8 million for Wheaton 121 in 2015. The complex sold for less, sources told Crain’s, in part because of a huge property tax increase for the property after Invesco bought it: The 2018 tax bill jumped 47 percent from 2016 to $2 million.

While the surging suburban apartment market has pushed up property values — and tax bills — in many places, the older and less expensive Wheaton Center didn’t see nearly the increase that Wheaton 121 did: its per-unit bill worked out to less a third of Wheaton 121’s.

HFF arranged the Wheaton Center sale for Edge Principal Advisors, which paid $44 million for the complex in 2014 and reportedly was seeking about $135 million for it. [Crain’s] — John O’Brien