Akara Lands $25M Refi for River North Apartments

Akara Partners landed a $25.2 million refinancing package for its 43-unit luxury apartment building known as Chateau on Wells in Chicago.

D2 Residential provided the three-year, floating-rate loan for the property at 707 North Wells Street in River North, according to a press release. JLL Capital Markets brokered the debt on behalf of the Chicago-based developer.

The financing is a fresh injection of cash for the storied property that unsuccessfully tried to convert to condos in 2024. Akara, led by founder and CEO Rajen Shastri, rebranded the building from The Hensley to Chateau on Wells and began selling units as condos, with prices ranging from $440,000 to $1 million. But the plan fell through in a matter of months, and the developer switched back to rentals.

That model seems to be working better for Akara. The apartments are about 95 percent rented, JLL said in the release. The units average 1,059 square feet, with an average monthly rent of $4,091.

The refinancing replaces a $21.5 million loan Akara took out on the property in February 2025 from Obra Real Estate, property records show. In 2024, Akara took out a $19 million loan on the building from an affiliate of Pangea Properties, requiring a $3 million cash infusion to replace a prior $22.1 million loan.

Akara secured a $14.2 million construction loan in 2014 for the building, which was completed in 2016, property records show.

Akara and D2 did not respond to requests for comment.

The pipeline for new apartments remains constrained in Chicago, driving tenant demand and rental revenue for existing properties. Downtown Chicago’s Class A apartment rents grew by 5 percent in the last 12 months, and buildings have a 5.1 percent vacancy rate, JLL said. About 9,200 units are under construction locally, representing 1.6 percent of total inventory, according to JLL.

JLL Managing Director Jesse Wright, along with directors Joshua Odessky and Sam Tarter and analysts Miguel Pedersen and Ben Banzhof led the negotiations for JLL, the firm said. Wright said the property’s “prime location in one of Chicago’s most desirable submarkets” helped secure the refinancing.

Nestled in the heart of River North, the building is in a busy entertainment district and a short walk from the Magnificent Mile.

The Akara deal adds to a recent string of successful refinancings in the Chicago area, as lenders show sustained interest in stabilized multifamily properties. Last month, Long Island, New York-based CLK Properties secured $115 million in Freddie Mac-backed debt to refinance its 918-unit Courtlands on the Park complex in suburban Des Plaines. That five-year loan from Greystone retired bridge financing CLK used to acquire the sprawling garden-style property in 2020.

Akara’s Chicago portfolio includes the 47-unit Linkt building at 830 North Milwaukee Avenue in River West; and a 206-room Home2 Suites by Hilton at 110 West Huron Street in River North. Akara and CA Ventures sold the 227-unit Kenect Chicago in River West to Newcastle in 2019 for $86 million.