Streeterville Apartment Tower Hits Hot Chicago Market

State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio listed a Streeterville apartment building, joining the pack of downtown apartments to hit the market recently.

The 481-unit property the Streeter, at 345 East Ohio Street, was purchased by the pension fund in 2007 for $210 million, Crain’s reported. That amounts to $436,590 per unit. Newmark brokers Elizabeth Gagliardi, Chuck Johanns and Susan Lawson are marketing the 49-story building, called the Streeter.

The asking price wasn’t disclosed. STRS Ohio’s portfolio encompasses a range of properties, including retail and multifamily.

Rents are rising among downtown Chicago apartment buildings, up 6.25 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, according to Integra Realty Resources. Inflationary pressures in construction costs and high interest rates have dampened apartment starts downtown, contributing to a 30-year low on apartment deliveries and increased demand for space in the older units.

Local developer Golub partnered with AEW Capital Partners and BlackRock Realty Advisors in 2006 to build the Streeter. The building is 99 percent occupied and rent averages $3,749 per month, about $3.96 per square foot, according to CoStar.

Nearby listings include Miami-based Crescent Heights’ 398-unit North Water Apartments, at 340 East North Water Street in Streeterville, which hit the market in April. 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. That property was listed as 93 percent occupied with similar average rents of $3,574 per unit or $3.93 per square foot, according to marketing materials.

The Chicago suburbs especially are attracting multifamily investors, with transactions jumping 65 percent year-over-year in March, according to Interra Realty.

Major transactions this year include Moceri & Roszak’s sale of 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.

— Eric Weilbacher