Optima Real Estate recently scored a $60 million refinancing on a multifamily project in Chicago’s supply-constrained North Shore suburbs.
The Glencoe, Illinois–based firm scored the loan to replace a $58 million construction mortgage issued in 2021 by Arlington Heights-based Village Bank & Trust, which was used to develop Optima Verdana, a 100-unit mixed-use apartment development with 5,900 square feet of retail space at 1210 Central Avenue in Wilmette, according to public records and a press release from Walker & Dunlop.
Debt brokers Dave Hendrickson, Pat Modig, Jonathan Paine, Mo Beler, Will Crittenberger and Philippe LaPointe of Bethesda, Maryland-based Walker & Dunlop originated the refinancing from Freddie Mac on behalf of the developers, the release stated.
Optima Verdana was completed in 2023 and is the first stage of a multi-phase development on the Central Avenue site, according to Optima’s website. The developers received approval from the Village of Wilmette in 2024 to begin phase two of the project, which will consist of a 128-unit apartment building known as Optima Lumina, adjacent to Optima Verdana.
The project comes at a time when apartments are facing high demand across much of the Chicago area. Lending for new construction has been particularly difficult in Cook County, where property tax assessments have become much less predictable in the wake of the pandemic.
Still, existing apartment buildings are getting snapped up by investors, especially in the suburbs.
At the beginning of the year, Chicago’s suburban multifamily market got off to a scorching start with over 1,400 units trading in just one week in January.
And the North Shore specifically has seen a record-setting run of activity in the residential market.
The two most expensive homes ever sold in Illinois were both in Winnetka and fetched more than $30 million apiece last year, reaching price points rarely seen in the Midwest.
The demand for high end accommodations also extends to rentals.
Murphy Development’s One Winnetka apartments, for example, are expected to open in 2027 with rents from $7,500 to $12,000 per month. The units already have a waitlist, according to the developer.