Opus Breaks Ground on 391-Unit Luxury Apartment Community

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorLisle, Ill.–Opus North Corp. recently broke ground on Arboretum Landmark, a 391-unit luxury apartment community, located within the Corporetum Office Campus in Lisle, Ill. The project, which includes one- and two-bedroom units, is expected for delivery in late 2009. “We started construction this month and it was difficult to get financing but fortunately, apartment deals are still popular,” Andrew Lockwood, real estate manager for Opus North, tells MHN. “Lenders want to invest in well-located, infill projects.”Lockwood adds that they are expecting the apartment market to be stronger in 2009 as the economy starts recovering. “Since it is located on an office campus, the residential aspect is an amenity for the people who work here. In addition, there is good demand for rental product in this suburb of Chicago due to concerns about for-sale products. People are waiting out the storm,” he says.Matt Nix, senior real estate director for Opus North, says, “The DuPage apartment submarket is extremely constrained, particularly in the luxury apartment category. In the past five years, only about 500 new rental units have been developed, and the median age of the existing supply is almost 30 years old. Also, since 2001, more than 1,200 apartment units in Lisle alone have been lost to condo conversions.” Units in the five-story Arboretum Landmark are designed with open floor plans and feature condo-quality finishes, including luxury kitchens and baths, nine-ft. ceilings, over-sized closets and balconies, indoor parking and a variety of environmentally friendly features.“The finishes are consistent with condo projects, which makes this appealing to the renters by choice,” says Lockwood. Amenities include a fitness center, club room with demonstration kitchen, internet café, media screening room with stadium-style seating and a resident business center. Additionally, the community features a landscaped outdoor swimming pool with sundeck and fire pit. The community also has some green features, including low-maintenance landscaping; use of local materials and high-efficiency windows and of course the walkability aspect.Downtown Lisle and its Metro train station are both a mile away.Opus North also plans to develop an additional 150,000 sq. ft. of office space on the site.