Two Australian companies landed a $117 million construction loan for a 41-story, 440-unit residential project in the South Loop.
Lendlease, a Sydney-based construction and infrastructure company, and Australian pension fund Aware Super got the financing from UK’s Cain International on the 513,000-square-foot project at 234 West Polk Street, the lender said Monday. Known as the Reed, the building is the second phase of Lendlease’s Southbank development, a $1.2 billion plan that will include up to 2,700 residential units, a riverwalk and a park.
Occupancy rates for downtown apartments jumped 94.5 percent in the second quarter, rebounding from a record low 86.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to Integra Realty Resources. Marcus & Millichap expects about 11,530 apartments to sprout by the second quarter of 2023, 80 percent more than the 6,643 units completed during the 12 months ended in June.
The Reed, expected to be completed in two years, will have a mix of 224 apartments and 216 condominiums priced from $400,0000 to $1.4 million. The Cooper, Southbank’s first 29-story, 452-unit apartment building at 720 South Wells Street, was completed in 2018.
Lendlease and Aware Super are partners on a number of developments across the country, including a 482,700-square-foot, 14-story building in Brooklyn and a $600 million development in Los Angeles.