Lightstone Group lists renovated DuPage apartments amid rent growth

A Carol Stream apartment complex just hit Chicago’s increasingly profitable suburban multifamily market. 

New York-based Lightstone Group listed Carol Stream Crossing, a 669-unit complex at 535 Thornhill Drive, Crain’s reported.

The firm, led by chairman and CEO David Lichtenstein, purchased it in November 2017 for nearly $82 million, almost $123,000 per unit, as part of a larger portfolio, according to MSCI Real Assets and CoStar Group. The listing price has not been disclosed.

The complex’s average asking rent of $1,722 per unit, or $1.86 per square foot, reflects a trend in the Chicago suburbs where rents are steadily increasing. Built in 1973, it’s actually two adjacent properties. They’ve been renovated and boast an occupancy rate of 96 percent. 

A JLL team including Kevin Girard, Mark Stern and Zachary Kaufman, is marketing the property. Carol Stream Crossing joins several other large apartment communities in the Chicago area recently listed for sale, including an 838-unit complex in Arlington Heights and a 356-unit property in Naperville.

The broader commercial real estate market faces challenges, particularly due to high borrowing costs. But the Chicago area’s multifamily sector remains strong, as its rental growth outpaces many other metropolitan regions. 

So far this year, 2,400 apartment units have been added to downtown, with 3,600 expected by the end of this year. That’s a 24 percent increase from the 2,900 units added last year and 140 percent over the 1,500 in 2022. 

Still, the average monthly rent for Class A downtown apartments has risen to $3.68 per square foot, a 1.94 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from Integra Realty Resources. 

In DuPage County, where Carol Stream Crossing is located, net median rent reached $2.09 per square foot at the beginning of this year, up 4.9 percent from the previous year, according to Integra Realty Resources.

— Andrew Terrell

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