Conor Commercial Real Estate and Ravine Park Partners Break Ground on Chicago Apartments

By Jeffrey Steele, Contributing Writer

Chicago—Construction is underway on Woodview Apartments, a new luxury apartment development in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Ill. The four-story, 432,000-square-foot apartment development will feature 248 units in a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as parking for 422 vehicles.

Conor Commercial Real Estate and Ravine Park Partners are developing Woodview Apartments. First occupancies will take place in the first quarter of 2015, and the entire community is expected to be ready for occupancy by the summer of that year.

The opportunity to build in Deerfield was an attractive option for a number of reasons. In the past decade, only a 96-unit development and a 56-unit development have been built within the Deerfield market. Moreover, all comparable developments in the 10-plus-year-old range are considerably more than 95 percent occupied.

“Within the last few years, rents were also witnessing increases as the number of renters in the market, and in that area, increased,” RPP partner Greg Moyer tells MHN. In addition, he says, Deerfield offers an appealing blend of highly-regarded schools, abundant recreational opportunities, convenient access to shopping and downtown Chicago, proximity to the Metra commuter rail system and I-294 Tollway, and adjacency to corporations that employ more than 17,000 people.

Moyer reports Woodview Apartments is already drawing the interest of every age group from baby boomers to Millennials. “We’ve received interest from empty nesters, active seniors, and single parents from the area,” he adds.

Woodview Apartments will offer more than 8,000 square feet of indoor amenity space, including a fully-featured clubhouse, state-of-the-art fitness center, demonstration kitchen, Internet lounge and meeting spaces.

Outdoor amenities will include a resort-style pool with fire pits and seating areas, dog walking area, dog washing area, access to biking trails adjacent to the property, on-site structured parking, electric charging stations for cars and a carwash area. The sheer diversity of amenities will appeal to residents from all walks of life, Moyer adds.

Woodview Apartments should spell enhanced economic vitality for Deerfield, given that the development will support the property tax base, and that residents are likely to frequent local shops, eateries and entertainment and service businesses in the village.

“For the community and residents of Deerfield, the Woodview Apartments project will attract new, potentially long-term residents to the area, who will provide a positive economic stimulus to the market,” Moyer observes. “We are also confident that this new Class A rental housing stock is a benefit to new employers considering the relocation of employees to the area, expanding or extending their commitment to the area or contemplating new business locations within the North Shore.”