Here are the top 5 multifamily sales of December

Pacific Reach Properties’ $121 million purchase of a Loop apartment tower was the top sale of the month, third biggest of the year

From left: Dr. Azim Jamal, Thomas Roszak, 215 West Lake Street, and David Hunt, Joe Mansueto, and 2300 North Lincoln Park West (Credit: Wikipedia, PGIM, Yelp, and Pearson Realty Group)
From left: Dr. Azim Jamal, Thomas Roszak, 215 West Lake Street, and David Hunt, Joe Mansueto, and 2300 North Lincoln Park West (Credit: Wikipedia, PGIM, Yelp, and Pearson Realty Group)

Pacific Reach Properties’ acquisition of a Loop apartment tower topped the list of the priciest multifamily deals in December.

The Vancouver-based private equity firm picked up the Linea apartment building at 215 West Lake Street for $121 million — making it the third biggest multifamily purchase in 2018. That single sale accounted for nearly half of the $245 million spent on the top five most expensive multifamily investment properties of December, according to a review of Cook County property records.

The second-most expensive multifamily deal of the month was billionaire Joe Mansueto’s $106 million purchase of the Belden-Stratford apartments in Lincoln Park. Rounding out the list are three South Side residential complexes that traded for a combined $15.4 million.

1. 215 West Lake Street | $121.1 million

Pacific Reach Properties picked up its first multifamily property in Chicago when it bought this 33-story building from local developer Moceri & Roszak on Dec. 18. Pacific Reach owns properties in Canada, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and owns a surface parking lot at 601 West Monroe Street. The firm entered a Chicago rental market that is seeing solid rent growth despite the addition of thousands of new units.

2. 2300 North Lincoln Park West | $106 million

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Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto’s added the Belden-Stratford apartment building to his growing portfolio last month. He bought the 16-story, 297-unit complex from PGIM Real Estate, which outbid Mansueto for the building in 2013. The deal comes five months after Mansueto’s new real estate business acquired the Wrigley Building at 400-410 North Michigan Avenue for about $255 million.

3. 10769 South Pulaski Road | $6 million

Nonprofit developer Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives sold this seven-unit apartment complex in Mount Greenwood for $6 million. Buying the property was Nassim Elliot, whose Mason Asset Management has become one of the country’s top 20 mall landlords after buying around 100 distressed malls in recent years, according to Reuters. Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives also sold a Pullman retail complex in December for $6 million.

4. 5424 South Cornell Avenue | $6 million

This 64-unit apartment building in Hyde Park sold to Nautilus Property Management, a South Side residential investment firm. The three-story building was built in 1928, according to LoopNet, and was sold by John Langas and Philip A. Coulolias. Hyde Park is seeing a steady stream of residential development, including Quest Realty Group’s plans for a four-story, 34-unit building on the north end of the neighborhood.

5. 2721 East 75th Place | $3.4 million

This six-unit apartment building in South Shore was bought by Ventus Holdings, which owns a number of multifamily buildings throughout the South Side. Selling the property was Wheaton-based T2 Investments, which is working to build a nine-story office building in downtown Evanston.