Eastham Capital is joining in on the Chicago suburban multifamily hype.
Boca Raton, Florida-based Eastham, along with Chicago-based partner Bender Companies, bought the 168-unit Flats at Gladstone apartments in Glendale Heights for $24 million, a press release stated. The deal came out to $143,000 per unit.
The seller was Chase Chavin, the co-founder of Rochester, New York-based Intersection Realty. DuPage County public documents associated with the property, however, indicate he may have bought and sold the property as an individual investment rather than on behalf of his company.
The Flats at Gladstone apartments, at 148 Gladstone Drive in Glendale Heights, are currently 96 percent occupied with an average rent of $1,690 per month, according to the release. The complex is made up of 31 six-unit buildings with two-bedroom layouts.
The buyers likely scored a favorable interest rate for the deal. The firms assumed Chavin’s prior mortgage, which he took out in 2020, when rates were considerably lower than they are today, records show. The $16 million mortgage matures in 2032, giving Eastham and Bender time to take advantage of the favorable rate.
The partners plan to invest $2.5 million in upgrades to the apartments that were built in 1977, the release said.
Investors have been gravitating toward suburbs outside of Chicago and Cook County, in part because the outer-suburban counties have faced less property tax fluctuations than Cook County.
Also, rent growth in the Chicago area has outpaced much of the nation amid a slump in new supply.
The suburban market saw a boost at the beginning of the year, when over 1,400 units traded hands in one week alone. The largest deal in that period was Osso Capital’s $110 million sale of the 730-unit Woodland of Crest Hill Apartments in Crest Hill to Bayshore Capital Partners. Crown Point, Indiana-based Bayshore’s purchase came out to $150,000 per unit.