Pacific Life, White Oak List Chicago West Loop Apartments

Another multifamily owner is testing Chicago’s hot market, listing a West Loop apartment building.

Pacific Life Insurance and White Oak Realty Partners are selling the Milieu, a 275-unit apartment tower at 205 South Peoria Street, Crain’s reported. The asking price wasn’t disclosed.

Developed by the two firms in 2019, the 20-story building is about 98 percent occupied and carries an $86 million mortgage taken out in 2021. JLL’s Mark Stern, Kevin Girard and Zachary Kaufman have the listing.

It’s the latest in a string of big-ticket multifamily listings across the city, a summer wave stemming from a combination of strong rent growth, limited construction deliveries and owners betting that investor interest in the Midwest will hold steady as Sun Belt markets cool.

Last month, Vista Property landed a $173 million construction loan to start a Fulton Market tower, while large properties in Streeterville, the West Loop and Hyde Park have all recently come up for sale.

Headwinds from high interest rates and institutional caution prevail, but pricing on recent West Loop trades has been competitive. The Arkadia, at 765 West Adams Street, sold late last year for $113.3 million, or $324,000 per unit, while a 20-story tower at 123 North Desplaines Street fetched $94 million — or roughly $422,000 per unit — in February.

Rents at top-tier downtown properties rose more than 6 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, according to Integra Realty Resources. The supply pipeline has slowed considerably amid rising construction costs.

Those conditions are fueling the flurry of listings as landlords look to time the market while occupancy and rents remain strong. It wasn’t clear from Cook County property records whether White Oak still holds a stake in the Milieu; neither White Oak nor Pacific Life responded to the outlet’s requests for comment.

— Judah Duke