Related Midwest has scored $97 million in construction financing for a 30-story apartment tower under way in the West Loop, adding to the bulging pipeline of new downtown housing developments.The Chicago-based developer is funding the 300-unit building at 1035 W. Van Buren St. with a $75 million senior loan from a lender group led by Citizen's Bank and SunTrust, according to Citizens. Pearlmark Real Estate and Pacific Life also are investing a combined $22 million in preferred equity in the project, according to Pearlmark.Related Midwest expects strong demand for the building's apartments from people who work in the Illinois Medical District, which is across the Eisenhower Expressway and several blocks west of its project.The building also should benefit from its proximity to the University of Illinois at Chicago, which is just across the highway, but there's a “serious housing deficiency” for medical district employees, said Related Midwest President Curt Bailey.“We think that's going to be a huge driver for that building,” he said.With rents at record highs, apartment developers continue to crank out new downtown high-rises at a fevered pace. Developers completed more than 7,300 apartments in downtown Chicago in the past three years and are on track to add another 8,400 by the end of 2017, according to Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based consulting firm.Fueled by a strong downtown job market and preference among young professionals for renting over owning, demand for apartments has been strong the past several years, though the surging supply could take some froth out of the market—and possibly depress rents and occupancies. But if lenders pull back—and some observers say they already are—that could curb construction and ease concerns about a potential glut.
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