Tall & Urban News

The developers of a 27-story apartment tower in Uptown have decided to sell the property, one of the biggest residential buildings in the North Side neighborhood to hit the market in decades.

A joint venture including Chicago-based JDL Development has hired Jones Lang LaSalle to sell Eight Eleven Uptown, a 381-unit high-rise at 811 W. Agatite Ave. that opened four years ago.

The developers are cashing out in a strong apartment market—occupancies are high and rents are rising—but investors have been lukewarm on big multifamily properties in Chicago lately. Some are wary of rising property taxes after big hikes in city real estate assessments last year. And rising interest rates will make it harder for investors to use borrowed money to finance acquisitions.

Yet investors that believe in the future of Uptown can make a big bet on the neighborhood by acquiring Eight Eleven. The project cost US$132 million to build, and JDL and its partners received $15.9 million in tax-increment financing from the city to help pay for it—a subsidy that community groups criticized as an unjustified handout. Built on the site of the former Maryville Academy, the high-rise includes 20 affordable apartments. As part of their agreement with the city, the developers also provided US$4.6 million to fund a $13 million renovation of the Clarendon Park field house.

For more on this story, go to Crain's.