A 191-unit apartment building in Chicago’s Lincoln Park is for sale, with the developer offering a perk to help overcome sluggish sales: a low-interest-rate loan that the buyer can assume.
Baker Development has hired JLL brokers to sell Elevate Lincoln Park, an 11-story building at 930 W. Altgeld St. on the North Side, according to a marketing brochure.
The property completed in 2018 is hitting the market at a challenging time for property sales throughout the country because of rising interest rates and other factors.
Many sales that have reached the finish line have come at steep discounts because of higher borrowing costs and inactivity in the market by many institutional investors.
In one recent deal, a 500-unit tower at 1326 S. Michigan Ave. sold for $144 million, or less than it cost to develop. In another example, the 198-unit building at 850 N. Lake Shore Drive sold for just under $80 million, far below the $140 million it last sold for in 2016.
Baker Development hopes to overcome those broader market conditions by allowing the buyer to assume its $78.6 million Fannie Mae loan, which has a fixed interest rate of 3.78%, far below today’s current borrowing costs, according to the JLL materials. The interest-only loan matures in June 2029.
Debt that can be assumed was a key selling point in at least two other multifamily deals in the area as interest rates have climbed: a nearly $31 million sale of the 78-unit MODE Logan Square Apartments in Chicago and a more than $94 million sale of the Haven on Long Grove complex in suburban Aurora, Illinois.
It’s unclear how much Baker Development is expecting for Elevate Lincoln Park.
CEO Warren Baker, whose firm previously tried to sell the property in 2021, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
Elevate Lincoln Park is 98% leased, according to JLL.
The property includes 121 garage parking spaces for residents and 41 spaces for use by retailers. The building includes 16,612 square feet of retail space.
Chicago Transit Authority elevated train tracks serving the Red, Brown and Purple lines run alongside the building.
For the Record
The seller is represented by JLL brokers Mark Stern, Kevin Girard, Zach Kaufman and Danny Kaufman.