Hines Pays $151 Million for Chicago West Loop Apartments

Hines made another big multifamily bet in the Chicago market, paying $151 million for the Left Bank at K Station apartment tower — the city’s second-largest apartment trade so far this year.

A venture of New Jersey-based PGIM Real Estate sold the 37-story, 451-unit building at 300 North Canal Street in West Loop to a Hines-affiliated fund, according to Cook County property records, Crain’s reported. The sale amounts to $335,000 per unit.

Neither firm commented on the deal, which was brokered by JLL’s Mark Stern, Kevin Girard and Zachary Kaufman.

PGIM put the tower on the market in June, one of several downtown multifamily listings this year as strong rent growth and minimal new supply enticed investors back into the market.

Completed in 2006 by PGIM and Chicago-based Fifield Companies, Left Bank sits near the confluence of the Chicago River and marks one of the earliest residential components of Fifield’s master-planned K Station community, which also includes the K2, Echelon and Alta towers. PGIM later bought out Fifield’s stake in 2007.

JLL’s marketing materials touted an opportunity for upgrades, noting that about 17 percent of units have yet to be modernized — a potential value-add play for Hines, which has been expanding its residential portfolio nationally.

Rents at Left Bank ranged from $2,432 for studios to $4,162 for two-bedrooms when the property hit the market.

Other notable trades this year include Fulbrix Apartments in Fulton Market, which sold for $170 million in April, and the $114 million sale of Elevate Lincoln Park in January.

Downtown apartment rents have surged in the past year as construction slowed to a trickle. Only one multifamily building was completed in central Chicago this year, according to Integra Realty Resources, which reported a 6.4 percent year-over-year rent increase for Class A properties in the second quarter.

The deal builds on Hines’ growing multifamily portfolio. The Houston-based firm is best known locally for developing the Wolf Point office and residential complex. Hines also paid $148 million late last year for the E2 Apartments in downtown Evanston.

— Eric Weilbacher