The Church of Latter-Day Saints’ purchase of a South Loop apartment tower was Chicago’s priciest multifamily sale in 2018.
The church’s $175 million deal for the 397-unit building at 1001 South State Street was one of two South Loop apartment trades to make the Top 5 list, and was one of two sales involving Chicago-based Golub & Company.
Edge Principal Advisors’ $155 million acquisition of the 325-unit Optima Chicago Center in Streeterville marked the city’s second-highest multifamily transaction of the year, followed by The Lex in the South Loop, which FPA Multifamily picked up for about $114 million.
The five sales added up to $651 million in total transactions amid a big year for the city’s rapidly-growing apartment market.
All sales figures were compiled from Cook County property records between Jan. 1 and Dec. 6.
1. 1001 South State Street | $175 million
Golub & Company and Los Angeles-based CIM Group took in $175 million when they sold this 397-unit South Loop high-rise to the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
The sale closed in August, months after Golub and CIM announced their proposal to build a 1,422-foot mixed-use supertall next to the historic Tribune Tower.
In December 2017, the developers accepted a $148.8 million loan on the property from an affiliate of the Mormon Church, the building’s eventual buyer.
2. Optima Chicago Center | $155 million
New York-based Edge Principal Advisors bought this 325-unit Streeterville apartment tower in the spring, about five years after architect David Hovey and DeBartolo Development completed it. The new owner refinanced the 42-story tower at 200 East Illinois Street with a $109 million loan from Pacific Life Insurance Company. The complex is now advertised as Aston Luxury Apartments.
Hovey last year completed the tower’s 490-unit companion, Optima Signature, and last month he refinanced that tower with a $215 million loan from Bank of America.
3. The Lex | $114.3 million
San Francisco-based investment firm FPA Multifamily bought the Lex, a 332-unit, two-tower apartment complex at 2138 South Indiana Avenue, in August from Miami-based Crescent Heights. Crescent Heights asked for between $116 and $120 million when it listed the buildings in March.
Crescent Heights recently sold multiple Downtown properties, including the 30-story Park Michigan apartment tower in the South Loop, as it continues work on the 76-story NEMA Chicago tower in the South Loop.
4. Reserve at Hoffman Estates | $104 million
An entity linked to Dayrise Residential, a Houston-based multifamily property manager, bought this 21-building rental campus in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates in May. The seller was the Bahrain-based Investcorp.
Dayrise secured an $81.5 million acquisition loan from Greystone when it closed the deal for the 17-acre campus at 875 Pacific Avenue, according to property records.
5. Vantage Oak Park | $102.8 million
Goldman Sachs and Chicago-based Magnolia Capital Management bought this 270-unit apartment tower in west-suburban Oak Park in January from Golub and Atlanta-based Wood Partners. It was the first of two $100-plus million sales Golub would rack up this year.
Golub and Wood spent about $90 million building the complex, which opened in 2016, according to Crain’s.
The top 5 Chicago multifamily sales in 2018
| NAME | 155 East 79th Street | PRICE RANGE | From $8,950,000 to $12,000,000 |
| ADDRESS | 155 East 79th Street | SIZE RANGE | From 3,291 Sq Ft to 4,464 Sq Ft |
| TYPE | Conversion | AVG PPSF | $2,758 |
| TOTAL UNITS | 7 | TAX ABATEMENT | No |
| DEVELOPER | Anbau Enterprises | AVG COMMON CHARGE | $1.72/sf |
| BROKER | Corcoran Sunshine | FINISHED BY | 2015 |