Vintage Chicago High-Rise Fetches $34M
The Lakeview property was sold by the family that owns the Chicago Blackhawks and co-owns the United Center.
Wirtz Realty, run by the family that co-owns the United Center and the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, has sold a 15-story, 169-unit, 1920s-era apartment building in Chicago for $34 million.
The buyer of 422-424 W. Melrose St. is Aris Sulejmani, according to Yardi Matrix data. Greystone provided a $25.5 million Fannie Mae loan to the buyer to finance the acquisition of the vintage high-rise building in the city’s Lakeview neighborhood.
Senior Managing Directors Christopher Sackley and William Montana of Global Real Estate Advisors’ Chicago office brokered the sale.
The financing was originated by Greystone Senior Managing Director Clint Darby and Director Andrew Remenschneider, a transaction manager for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac multifamily loan originations at Greystone’s Chicago office.
Darby said in prepared remarks that Fannie Mae loan provides long-term financing that positions the property for continued success while supporting the borrower’s long-term investment strategy.
Property converted to multifamily in 1950s
Completed in 1926, 422-424 W. Melrose St. operated as a hotel until it was converted into a multifamily community in 1955. Wirtz Realty has invested more than $7 million in capital improvements over the past decade.
The property has a mix of studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units ranging in size from 385 to 2,203 square feet, with an average of 627 square feet. Rents range from $1,111 to $1,739, with an average of $1,296, according to Yardi Matrix data. The building had 97.6 percent occupancy at the time of the sale, the same source shows.
The controlled-access building has laundry facilities, a package room and bike storage. Window air conditioning units are available in all units.
The Lakeview location offers residents access to Lake Michigan, Wrigley Field, public transportation, employment centers and a variety of dining, shopping and entertainment destinations.
Wirtz family real estate moves
Founded in 1926, The Wirtz Corp. is a family-owned, private holding company that operates across numerous sectors including real estate management and development, sports, wholesale distribution and banking. Wirtz Realty owns and manages a portfolio of more than 80 residential and commercial properties throughout the Chicagoland area.
The sale of 422-424 W. Melrose St. comes as the family is paring down some of its real estate assets to focus on several mega-projects. Earlier this summer, the Wirtz family and Reinsdorf family, co-owner of the United Center and owner of the Chicago Bulls, broke ground on a $7 billion mixed-use district called the 1901 Project that will feature 9,500 apartments, 1,300 hotel rooms, a 6,000-seat music hall, retail space and parking. The six-phase mega-project is being built on parking lots surrounding the United Center on the city’s Near West Side and is expected to be completed by 2040, The Real Deal reported. About 20 percent of the apartments will be affordable housing.
The Wirtz family is also developing Ivanhoe Village in Mundelein, Ill., on nearly 800 acres that have been owned by the family since the 1850s. The $2 billion project is designed to be a New Urbanism community focused on walkability, connectivity, diversity, mixed uses and sustainability. The multiphase development calls for about 3,600 homes, commercial spaces and parks and is expected to take more than 20 years to build out.
