Singapore firm cashes out of Chicago apartments for $105M

After spending $395 million on three Miami-area apartment properties last year, Steven DeFrancis’ company has moved its target to Chicago’s thriving multifamily market.

Atlanta-based Cortland, whose CEO is DeFrancis, dropped $105 million on a 25-story apartment building in the Windy City’s River North neighborhood, public records show. The seller of the 188-unit asset, completed in 2015 at 220 West Illinois Street, was an affiliate of Singapore-based investment firm Mapletree, which bought the property in 2019 for $91 million, gaining 15 percent with the sale.

220 West Illinois Street (Apartments)

Cortland’s purchase marks the second-priciest multifamily deal in Chicago this year, trailing only the $180 million purchase of a 34-story South Loop tower by American Landmark Properties and Evergreen Residential.

Mapletree declined to comment. The buyer didn’t respond to a request for comment.

When Mapletree bought the property in early 2019, the Asian company planned to convert the formerly standard apartments into an extended-stay service targeting travelers on long business trips. The firm also rebranded the property from the Jones Apartments to the Oakwood Chicago River North.

It’s still being marketed as a traditional apartment building, though, with rents ranging from $2,200 per month to $3,800 for a two-bedroom unit, according to an Apartments.com listing.

Chicago’s apartment market has been unfazed by this year’s rapid rise in interest rates, which has forced some sellers to reprice multifamily assets downward without blowing up big deals altogether. Cortland’s purchase comes after local investment firm Albion paid a record $140 million for a 612-unit complex in suburban Palatine.

That deal and Cortland’s are two of the five multifamily sales recorded in Cook County so far this year for more than $100 million. Just one such deal had taken place through July 20 last year, county recorder’s office records show.

Investors have been attracted to the area by its increasing rents, especially in Class A downtown buildings, where prices jumped by almost a fifth to $3.55 per square foot in the first quarter. Short supply is fueling demand: The multifamily occupancy rate rose to 94.5 percent in the first three months of 2022 from 91.1 percent a year earlier, according to Integra Realty Resources.

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