RPM Living Buys Build-to-Rent Orland Park Community for $102M

Austin-based RPM Living is expanding its Chicago-area portfolio with the $102 million acquisition of a significant build-to-rent single-family and townhome community in Orland Park.

The Texas-based investor purchased the 294-unit Orland Ridge property, about 30 miles southwest of Downtown Chicago. The deal was first reported by CoStar News and involved sellers SR Jacobson Development and Lormax Stern Development Company, who began shopping the community last year. Brokers Mark Stern and Kevin Girard of JLL represented the developers in marketing the community.

Orland Ridge, at 16966 Pond Willow Drive, represents the burgeoning build-to-rent sector, which features single-family style homes or townhouses operated as long-term rentals.

The community was completed in 2023 and has maintained a strong occupancy since it opened to residents. According to CoStar data, the property currently maintains an occupancy rate of about 92 percent. The units command an average rent of $2,873 per month, which breaks down to about $1.97 per square foot.

Individual units at the property average 1,455 square feet, providing larger floor plans that have become increasingly desirable for suburban renters, according to the publication. The acquisition arrives as the Chicago suburban rental market shows steady growth. Median net rents in the suburbs reached $2.15 per square foot by the end of 2025, marking a 2.6 percent increase over the previous year.

Several factors are driving these rent increases, including a restricted pipeline of new housing supply and elevated interest rates, leading many potential homebuyers to remain in the rental market for longer durations, according to the publication.

The $102 million deal stands as one of the first major suburban rental transactions recorded in 2026. It follows a recent $110 million purchase of a 730-unit complex in Will County by an Indiana-based investor, according to Crain’s.

RPM Living is no stranger to the Illinois market, as the firm already maintains a national portfolio with existing local properties, including a 242-unit apartment complex on Diehl Road in Warrenville.

Requests for comment from RPM Living, S.R. Jacobson, and Lormax Stern were not immediately returned following the close of the deal. Total development costs for the 2021 project were not publicly disclosed at the time of the sale.

— Eric Weilbacher