Interra Brokers Suburban Chicago Sale

Melrose Park. Image courtesy of Interra Realty

Commercial real estate investment services firm Interra Realty has brokered the $2 million sale of a multifamily community in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park, Ill. The 29-unit apartment building at 1123 N. 33rd Ave., was a 1031 exchange, and traded for the equivalent of $69,000 per unit. The transaction demonstrated the benefit of 1031 exchanges in real estate investing as workforce housing stays in high demand.

Patrick Kennelly, managing partner, and Paul Waterloo, director, of Interra Realty represented the buyer, a local private investor. The two leveraged Interra’s local network to identify a building owner prepared to sell in an off-market transaction.

Upgrades planned

Built in 1970, the apartment community is comprised of three studio apartments, 22 one-bedroom residences and four two-bedroom apartment homes. The acquiring company intends to make improvements to the residences on an as-needed basis, as well as address acute deferred maintenance, the company said in a statement.

“The main challenge that arose with this transaction was the time crunch to complete the deal, since it was a 1031 transaction, which has specific time constraints and requirements,” Kennelly told Multi-Housing News. “To overcome this challenge, we had to act quickly and efficiently.”

In a prepared statement, Interra Realty noted today’s market conditions mean few ground-up apartment developments address the workforce housing need. “Our expertise and experience in handling complex transactions allowed us to successfully complete the deal within the required timeframe,” Waterloo added. “We were able to use our deep network of contacts to identify a suitable property for an off-market deal.”

Well situated

The apartment community is situated near the highly trafficked intersection of North Avenue (Rt. 64) and Mannheim Road (U.S. Highway 45). It is served by the Melrose Park station on the Union Pacific West line of Metra, the Chicago area’s commuter rail service. The site is less than 20 minutes from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Several months ago, Interra Realty brokered the transaction in which the 30-story Astoria Tower, in Chicago’s South Loop, was acquired by 3L Real Estate.