Quest Realty plans apartment project on Hyde Park-Kenwood border

Quest Realty Group wants to develop an apartment building on the border of Hyde Park and Kenwood, as it looks to add to its share of Chicago’s lucrative rental market.

The local firm bought the parking lot at the northeast corner of Hyde Park Boulevard and Dorchester Avenue for $1.6 million in July and plans to spend $8 million to build the 34-unit, four-story complex, owner Jason Vondrachek said.

It will feature three studios, 19 one-bedrooms, six two-bedrooms and six three-bedrooms that will rent for between $1,300 to $3,000 a month, he said. It will also feature 34 parking space — 23 indoors — and a rooftop deck.

Vondrachek said he is still wrapping up construction financing with American Eagle Bank and awaiting building permits from the city. He hoped to start construction soon, with a target delivery of September 2019 to accommodate possible renters from the University of Chicago.

Two years ago, Ranquist Development and Campbell Coyle Real Estate had plans to build a four-story, 19-unit condo building on the property, with asking prices from roughly $400,000 to nearly $1 million, Curbed reported at the time. That project never materialized.

Quest’s apartment project at 5055 South Dorchester Avenue is the first South Side development for the firm, which is behind a number of North Side projects, including a six-story transit-oriented development with 30 apartments and ground-floor retail at 4720 North Sheridan Road in Uptown.

Quest recently sold a property at 7070 North Clark Street in Rogers Park for $1.75 million to Ross Real Estate, which plans 54 affordable rental units over ground-floor retail there.

Occupancy rates in Chicago-area apartments are holding steady despite accelerating construction.