Optima Lists Apartments it Developed on Chicago’s North Side

A North Side apartment complex that replaced a Treasure Island grocery store in 2022 is on the market.

Optima hired JLL brokers to scout a buyer for Optima Lakeview, a 199-unit, eight-story building at 3478 North Broadway, CoStar News reported. The asking price hasn’t been disclosed. The property sat empty for about a year after the local grocery store chain went out of business in 2018. Optima paid $12.85 million for the property in 2019.

Optima, which based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Glencoe, leveled the store and took out a construction loan from Village Bank & Trust, then refinanced the property last March with $56 million from PNC Bank, the outlet said. The refinancing amounted to $281,400 per unit.

The building is more than 90 percent leased with rents of $4.13 per square foot, nearly $4,400 per unit. The building features a rooftop deck with a pool, spa, party room, fire pits and grill stations, along with private balconies, indoor basketball and pickleball courts, a putting green and fitness center. JLL is marketing the property as a rare large apartment development in a high-density neighborhood.

A slow construction pipeline and high demand for apartments has led to rent growth and increased investor interest in Chicago this year.

Chicago-area apartment sales totaled $4 billion in 2023, $3.9 billion in 2024 and clocked in at $2.3 billion halfway through this year. Major sales this year include the 375-unit Fulbrix tower in Fulton Market for $170 million.

Sales of large apartment complexes on the North Side this year include the 292-unit Cobbler Square building in Old Town for $87 million, or $298,000 per unit, and the 191-unit Elevate Lincoln Park building for $114 million, or $597,000 per unit. Other apartment assets that have hit the market this year include the 275-unit Milieu tower, at 205 South Peoria Street, a 363-unit building called the Mason, at 180 North Ada Street, and the 451-unit Left Bank tower at 300 North Canal Street.

—Eric Weilbacher