Chicago landlords are hoping to cash in on growing interest in the Midwest’s nation-leading apartment rent growth.
Over the last month, a handful of large multifamily listings in and around Chicago hit the market.
Sun Belt markets like Austin and Nashville experienced explosive growth during and just after the pandemic but a rush of new supply has tempered rent hikes in those metros. Meanwhile, the traditionally slow and steady Midwest multifamily market began to build momentum amid a limited development pipeline.
Outer suburbs have been a particularly strong submarket for Chicago’s multifamily sector because investors can benefit from the city’s strong economy while avoiding Cook County taxes.
The number of multifamily transactions in the suburbs jumped 65 percent year-over-year in March, according to Interra Realty. The average price per unit rose 18 percent to $142,935 during the same time period.
There are bright spots in Cook County, as well. Last month, Moceri & Roszak sold the 375-unit Fulbrix Apartments in Fulton Market for $170 million, or $453,333 per unit, marking the city’s largest apartment sale in nearly two years.
Developers are still taking big swings in Chicago where they can. Last month, Vista Property scored $173 million in financing to begin work on an apartment tower in Fulton Market.
A few blocks away, Fulton Market Companies’ Alex Najem is seeking financing for two multifamily projects with over 1,000 units.
“We’re going to own Fulton Market,” Najem said at The Real Deal’s Building Luxury: Chicago event earlier this month. “We allowed other people to go do their dabbling in the Sun Belt states during COVID … I know the politics here. I know the zoning. I just know the market … There’s tons of people here and lots to do here.”
Below are the latest listings to hit Chicago’s multifamily market.
Green Cities lists Streeterville apartments
Oregon-based Green Cities 263-unit apartment tower in Streeterville.
The 41-story tower is 98% occupied, according to CBRE marketing materials. The average rent is about $3,200 with room to grow. The building was constructed in 1991 and Green Cities renovated half of the units but left the rest untouched.
At 420 East Ohio Street, the tower’s units range from studios to three bedrooms.
PGIM’s West Loop tower hits the market
Longtime owners of a 37-story apartment tower in the West Loop are seeking to cash out.
PGIM Real Estate and Fifield Cos. completed the apartments in 2006 and PGIM then bought out Fifield’s stake in 2007.
The developers took out a $93 million construction loan to finance the development of the Left Bank, a 37-story, 451-unit apartment tower at 300 North Canal Street.
Just over 80 percent of the units have been renovated recently, marketing materials from JLL state. Rents range from about $2,400 to $4,100.
When the tower was built, it was part of a master planned development of four towers called K2, Echelon and Alta.
Stuart Handler looks for buyer for Hyde Park and Lakeview portfolio
Prolific Chicago investor Stuart Handler is looking to offload five multifamily properties on Chicago’s North and South Sides.
The studio and one-bedroom properties are located at 5326 South Cornell Avenue, 5417-25 South Harper Avenue, 5210-14 South Woodlawn Avenue in Hyde Park and 661 West Sheridan Road and 434 West Wellington Avenue in Lakeview.
Kiser Group has the listing.
The Hyde Park properties total 207 studio and one-bedroom units and 127,000 square feet. Rents range from about $1,100 to $1,200 for the studios and about $1,400 for the one-bedroom units. The three buildings bring in about $1.7 million in net operating income, according to the listing.
The Lakeview assets total 134 units. Rents for studios range from about $1,000 to $1,200 per month and for the one bedroom units range from $1,300 to $1,500.
Beitel lists 662-unit suburban complex
The New York-based investment firm Beitel hired Colliers’ Tyler Hague and Ryan Roegner to market The Preserve at Woodfield, a 622-unit apartment complex in Rolling Meadows.
The 1960s-era complex consists of over a dozen low-slung apartment buildings near the intersection of interstates 90 and 290. It’s 97 percent occupied and draws rents of about $1,600 per unit, according to marketing materials.
Developer SR Jacobson to cash out of Orland Park townhomes
SR Jacobson listed the Orland Ridge Towhomes and Villas in Orland Park with JLL. SR Jacbson, along with Lormax Stern, developed the community which consists of 294 townhomes and ranch-style rental homes as well as a community center with a pool. Construction on the project was completed in 2023.
Public records on the property are limited, but in the 2024 assessment cycle, the Cook County Tax Assessor valued the property at about $41 million. The listing doesn’t include an asking price.
The property is 97 percent occupied. Rents range from $2,600 to $3,600.
Crescent Heights lists Streeterville Apartment Tower
Just under two years after acquiring one of downtown Chicago’s largest rental towers, Crescent Heights is testing the market by listing it.
The asking price hasn’t been disclosed for the 398-unit North Water Apartments, perched above the Loews Hotel at 340 East North Water Street.
Miami-based Crescent Heights purchased the multifamily component of the building in June 2023 for $173 million ($435,000 per unit), a bargain compared to its $240 million trade in 2016.
Newmark brokers Liz Gagliardi, Chuck Johanns and Susan Lawson are marketing the listing.
The property’s positioning as a 93 percent leased luxury asset in one of the city’s tightest rental submarkets may help insulate it from broader investor caution. Its average rent is $3,574 per unit or $3.93 per square foot, according to marketing materials.
Streeterville has seen limited new supply over the past five years, with only one apartment tower delivered last year. Fewer than 300 units are expected to be delivered downtown this year, tightening occupancy and pushing up rents, according to Integra Realty Resources.
One potential draw for buyers is assumable debt. Crescent Heights secured a $112 million Freddie Mac loan on the building last year at an interest rate of 5.45 percent, maturing in July 2028. The ability to assume that mortgage could offer relief from higher rates and make the property more appealing to prospective investors.
It was built in 2015, and the 500-room Loews Hotel is owned separately.