Chicago real estate investment firm Newcastle scored a $45 million refinancing for a 161-unit apartment building in Lakeview, about six months after fumbling a redevelopment deal in the nearby Gold Coast.
Newcastle’s new lender for the multifamily property is PGIM, which provided a seven-year loan with an interest rate below 5.3 percent, according to a press release from debt broker Northmarq.
The debt for the Reside on Barry apartments at 533 West Barry Avenue, was arranged by Northmarq’s Kevin McCarthy.
Newcastle bought the building in 2011 for $33 million with a $20 million loan from Wells Fargo, public records and prior reporting show. The 17-story, 1970s-era building includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units with modern upgrades, according to the release.
Newcastle secured the refinancing after stepping away from a redevelopment opportunity in Chicago’s Gold Coast.
In August, Convexity Properties, the development arm of DRW Holdings, picked up a development site at the corner of 1120 and 1130 North State Street for $39 million from Newcastle Investors, which paid $61 million for it in 2019.
The nearly 31,000-square-foot property — home to a long-shuttered Barnes & Noble and a Lou Malnati’s restaurant — is entitled for a 29-story, 304-unit apartment building. Newcastle secured approval in 2021 after scaling back its initial 42-story proposal, which drew pushback from Ward 2 Alderman Brian Hopkins and neighbors. But the developer never started construction and has now exited at a loss of roughly $22 million, Crain’s previously reported.
Ground-up development has been challenging in Chicago in recent years, as property tax fluctuations in the wake of the pandemic add to the difficulties of a tight lending environment and rising material and labor costs.
In a 2026 forecast, Marcus & Millichap predicted that Chicago is on track to see the smallest number of new apartments completed since 2012. Less than 4,000 new units will be completed this year, according to the report.
Meanwhile, holding onto multifamily projects for the long term has proven fruitful because supply constraints are boosting rent growth.
The city’s average effective rent was up 3.8 percent, year-over-year, at the end of 2025, according to Yardi Matrix.