Chicago-based Interra Realty brokered the sale of eight rental buildings with a total of 100 units in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. The $7.78 million sale price equated to approximately $77,805 per apartment.
David Goss and Jon Morgan, Interra co-founders and managing principals, and Lucas Fryman, Interra director, represented the buyer, Jarrell Housing Group, and the seller, St. Edmund’s Redevelopment Corp., a Chicago-based owner and operator of affordable rental communities on the city’s South Side.
“It’s rare to see a multifamily portfolio of this size trade hands in Washington Park,” Goss said. “The property was attractive to the buyer because of the value-add potential and location in a trending submarket. Jarrell Housing Group plans to make substantial improvements to all the properties and still maintain them as affordable housing, benefitting the community and its residents.”
In total, the portfolio includes eight one-bedroom units; 41 two-bedroom units; 35 three-bedroom units; 15 four-bedroom units; one 1,400-square-foot commercial space and 33 parking spaces. Some of the units are located in Michigan Corners, a two-building property built in 1995 at 5656-58 S. Michigan Avenue and 5700-02 S. Michigan Avenue. The portfolio also contains Michigan Plaza, a six-building community constructed in 1998 at 5701-03 S. Michigan Avenue, 5714-16 S. Michigan Avenue, 5926-28 S. Michigan Avenue, 5939-41 S. Michigan Avenue, 5942-44 S. Michigan Avenue and 6048-58 S. Michigan Avenue.
The acquisition was partially financed with tax credits from CREA LLC, an Indianapolis-based, full-service tax syndicator that specializes in affordable housing, and loan assumptions from the city of Chicago and the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Jarrell Housing Group plans to improve the properties and maintain the units as affordable for renters earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income.
All the rental buildings in the portfolio offer proximity to the lakefront, public transit including the newly redeveloped Garfield Green Line station and educational and cultural institutions such as the University of Chicago and DuSable Museum of African American History. Also nearby is Jackson Park, the site of the proposed Obama Presidential Center, which has helped spur investment activity in the area.
“We’re seeing an increase in investor demand in Washington Park and other nearby neighborhoods as a result of these high-profile developments,” Morgan said. “Because of our deep experience with these deals and the submarket, we were able to source a Chicago investor who understood the intricacies involved with working with a nonprofit seller and help them secure financing through tax credit dollars.”
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