It’s been open for less than a year, but the 21-story luxury high-rise apartment building Vantage, 150 N. Forest Ave. in Oak Park, is near capacity and has been put on the market for sale.
The 270-unit building recently appeared on the real estate listing site CBRE Deal Flow as “the most prestigious asset in burgeoning downtown Oak Park.”
A price was not included in the listing.
The listing touts the building’s high walkability due to its proximity to el and Metra stations and nearby grocery stores – Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe’s.
“Located just 10 miles due west of downtown Chicago and right outside of the city of Chicago border, Oak Park is a ‘streetcar suburb’ that contains a number of apartment demand generators and remains an extremely attractive place to live with rail connections direct access to the regional highway networks,” the listing states.
The listing describes Oak Park as a “well-educated, diverse, activist community with excellent schools and attractive main street retail areas.”
“Designed by Gensler and constructed in 2016, the physical product is exactly what the target demographic in Oak Park is looking for today,” according to the listing.
The listing quotes a report by Appraisal Research Counselors, which provides services for investment-grade properties, stating that Oak Park “leads the Cook County-South Suburban submarket in financial performance.”
“As of Q4 2016, the overall Cook County-South submarket had an annual market occupancy level of 96.5 percent and saw year-over-year rent growth of 5 percent over the Q4 2015,” the listing states, quoting Appraisal Research Counselors.
Axiometrics, an apartment market data research firm, is quoted in the listing, stating that the village is expected to see an average 3 percent effective rent growth over the next five years, “with occupancy remaining in the 95-96 percent range.”
That’s good news for developers working on The Emerson, a 271-unit luxury apartment building expected to open this year near the corner of Lake and Harlem.
It also could be good news for Albion Residential, which has proposed an 18-story building across the street from Vantage. The Albion project has been controversial in part because it would sit adjacent to Austin Gardens, a public park. Some opponents have argued that the numerous developments going up around town could leave a glut in the market.
Albion’s proposal was recently formally submitted to the Oak Park citizen-led Plan Commission for review. In its planned development application, Albion noted that Vantage already is 94.4 percent leased.
The Vantage listing also touts its commercial tenants – Edward-Elmhurst Healthcare, which opened earlier this year, and Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant, which is expected to open this summer.
The sale of the building would be a major windfall for the village, which would make upwards of six figures in the property transfer tax.
The Oak Park Place Apartments – frequently referred to as the Whiteco building – at 479 N. Harlem was sold to a Canadian financial services company last year for $68 million, resulting in $546,000 transfer tax boon for the village.
CONTACT: tim@oakpark.com