Sandz Sells Lincoln Park’s Webster Square Apartments to Beal

Chicago investor Bill Silverstein is betting on an adaptive reuse project near Oz Park within the coveted Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Sandz Development sold the Webster Square Apartments for $35.8 million, marking the latest turnover at the former Lincoln Park Hospital site, which sits inside one of Chicago’s priciest neighborhoods for rentals, Crain’s reported.

Silverstein, founder of Beal Properties, bought the 75-unit building at 558 West Webster Avenue, according to Triton Realty Group, which brokered the deal for both parties. The property includes nearly 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and sits in the heart of Lincoln Park, where rental demand remains among the strongest in the city with average unit leases exceeding $2,000 monthly.

Sandz converted part of the shuttered hospital campus into apartments in 2014, following years of planning and neighborhood wrangling over density and traffic. The broader Webster Square redevelopment added condos and single-family homes, as well, cementing the site as one of the more successful examples of an institutional property’s reuse on the North Side.

The building’s appeal rests as much on its design as its ZIP code.

“This transaction demonstrates the enduring value of quality real estate in highly walkable, lifestyle-driven neighborhoods,” Triton president Matthew Fritzshall said in a statement. “Webster Square is an exceptional example of modern adaptive reuse paired with timeless architectural character.”

Rents in the North Lakefront submarket — which includes Lincoln Park — average $2,120 per month, according to CoStar data, and are expected to rise amid a slowdown in new multifamily construction. That dynamic has made well-located properties like Webster Square competitive for long-term investors seeking stable cash flow and appreciation potential.

Sandz financed the 2014 project with a $20 million construction loan, though the total redevelopment cost remains unclear. A Sandz executive declined the outlet’s request for comment on the recent sale. Beal, which controls dozens of North Side apartment buildings and suburban holdings, didn’t return a Crain’s request for comment.

Silverstein’s outfit has recently scooped up several North Side multifamily properties, as he’s active in the mid-market apartment space as well as Chicago’s condo deconversion game. Earlier this year, Beal Properties picked up a 94-unit Gold Coast high rise at 1344 North Dearborn Street for $27 million. In 2023 he bought a 60-unit apartment building at 528 West Oakdale Avenue from Chicago-based Horizon for $17.5 million and a 56-unit apartment building at 656 West Wrightwood Avenue from JAB Real Estate for $14.1 million in 2022.

— Eric Weilbacher