The family office of a former Blackstone real estate executive is involved in a deal to buy a 227-unit apartment tower along the eastern edge of Chicago’s Fulton Market, one of a few properties that J.P. Morgan Asset Management is selling in the city.
Centaur Capital Partners is part of a venture that is under contract to buy the 29-story Parker Fulton Market tower, according to people familiar with the deal.
Based in Lake Forest, Illinois, Centaur Capital Partners is the family office of John Schreiber, who co-founded Blackstone Real Estate Advisors.
It is unclear how much the Centaur venture is paying for the tower at 730 W. Couch Place, but it is expected to be less than the approximately $111.4 million that sellers J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Atlantic Residential paid for it in December 2017.
Prices for properties in Chicago and throughout the country have fallen, some significantly, after interest-rate increases and other challenges in recent years.
With high costs of borrowing and a dearth of available debt, investors such as high-net-worth individuals and family offices have stepped in to fill the void on some deals, such as the pending Parker Fulton Market deal.
Apartment Bargains
Some buyers have snapped up multifamily bargains relative to previous pricing despite Chicago’s rent growth continuing to outperform many faster-growing markets that have been flooded with new supply.
New York-based J.P. Morgan Asset Management recently felt the pain of that scenario, selling the 198-unit apartment building at 850 N. Lake Shore Drive to Miami-based developer Crescent Heights for just under $80 million — far below the $140 million it paid in 2016. Crescent Heights told Crain’s Chicago Business that the firm plans to convert the Lake Shore Drive building to for-sale condominiums.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management also has been looking to sell other Chicago real estate as the firm bows out of Chicago-based developer Sterling Bay’s stalled $6 billion Lincoln Yards mixed-use project on the city’s North Side. As Sterling Bay looks for new investors to step in for J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Lone Star Funds and restart the megadevelopment, J.P. Morgan Asset Management also has looked to sell Fulton Market sites where it had planned apartment towers with Sterling Bay.
J.P. Morgan, Atlanta-based Atlantic Residential and Centaur did not respond to requests to comment from CoStar News.
Developed by local firms Shapack and Focus, Parker Fulton Market opened in 2016.
Nearly 100% Leased
The new owner could boost the property’s value by closing the gap between current rents and those seen in recently completed buildings, according to JLL marketing materials, which said the average current leases average $3.67 per square foot. The property was 98% leased as of the time it went up for sale more than three months ago, according to JLL.
Schreiber is a well-known figure in Chicago real estate and philanthropy. He and wife Kathleen in 2022 donated $100 million to Loyola University Chicago, the largest gift in the school’s history, to fund scholarships for "ethnically and racially diverse students who are historically underrepresented in higher education," according to a Loyola press release.
Schreiber is a graduate of the Jesuit school, where he also has served as a longtime trustee. The couple has made donations to Loyola since the 1970s, including $10 million in 2014 to help fund a new downtown home for the business school.
The Schreibers’ other recent donations have included $25 million to Lurie Children’s Hospital and $15 million to the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
For the Record
The seller is represented by JLL brokers Kevin Girard, Mark Stern and Zachary Kaufman.