Value-Add Investors Seeking MF Deals Outside Core Areas

This development in Grayslake, IL will get a remake, and the new owner plans to buy back its 95 condos.

CHICAGO—Some lenders are leery of financing developments with both rental units and condominiums, but Avison Young recently overcame that challenge by securing $34 million in acquisition financing for Strategic Properties of North America so it can purchase and make improvements to Grays Pointe Apartment Complex, a 396-unit apartment complex located at 1900 Country Dr. in north suburban Grayslake. The property includes 301 rental units and 95 condominiums.

“This is not a cookie-cutter multifamily deal,” Avison Young principal Justin Piasecki tells GlobeSt.com. “You have another 95 units that are owned by individual investors. That freaks some lenders out.” But in this case, Strategic Properties has already “had an amazing response from the condo owners, who seem willing to sell.”