Suburban Chicago Project Completes Construction
Synergy Construction Group worked with Ware Malcomb to build a 166-unit community.
The entrance to Station 250. Image by Katrina Wittkamp courtesy of Ware Malcomb 
The interiors of Station 250. Image by Katrina Wittkamp courtesy of Ware Malcomb 
The pool area in Station 250. Image by Katrina Wittkamp courtesy of Ware Malcomb 
A common space in Station 250. Image by Katrina Wittkamp courtesy of Ware Malcomb
Synergy Construction Group has completed construction on Station 250, a luxury 166-unit development in the Village of Mundelein, Ill., a Chicago suburb. Ware Malcomb provided architecture, interior design, and full site planning services for the transit-oriented project.
The community features one- and two-bedroom units with tuck-in garages. The project, totaling four stories, utilized Chicago-style design elements including wood framing and brick and fiber cement exterior materials.
“Designing a transit-oriented development in a walkable downtown environment allows more focus on connectivity and community,” Charles Swanson, practice leader, director, multifamily, at Ware Malcomb, told Multi-Housing News.
Pet-friendly units include finishes such as hardwood flooring, eat-in kitchens, balconies or ground-floor patios, washers/dryers and walk-in master closets. The property features 10,700 square feet of indoor amenities including a coffee bar reception area, fitness center, yoga room, sauna, a golf/game simulator room and a coworking lounge. There is also an outdoor pool.
“In this project, the building is fronted on the street, creating a new urbanist look and feel,” Swanson said. “Transit adjacency permits a lower parking count, and the parking is concealed in the rear of the site. The main amenities are strategically located in the center of the building on the street, maximizing resident access and community visibility.”
Situated at 250 Plaza Circle, the community is some 40 miles north of Downtown Chicago and 15 miles north of Arlington Heights. Residents are adjacent to the local METRA rail station and Mundelein Village Hall.
Chicago holds its own
Station 250 is located in the top most competitive rental market in the nation, according to RentCafe and Yardi Matrix analysis. In the peak season of this year, suburban Chicago ranked as the highest competitive score in the top 20 most competitive rental markets, tied only with Miami.
Not only is suburban Chicago performing well, but the entire metro is outperforming national rates in most metrics. In the third quarter of this year, advertised asking rents were up 0.4 percent on a trailing three-month basis to $1,938. Year-over-year, rates were up 2.0 percent, more than double the 0.8 percent national figure. Further, occupancy rates were also healthy.
Recently in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood, Celadon Partners and Blackwood Group broke ground on a three-building master-planned development. Upon completion, a six-story building will feature 45 units alongside a pair of modular apartment buildings with three homes each.
