L&B Realty Advisors Buys 304-Unit Multi-Housing Community; Ascend Real Estate Group Plans Mixed-Use Building

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.) recently closed the sale of a 304-unit luxury multi-housing community in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The 25-story community, 77 West Huron, was marketed on behalf of the seller, Archstone. L&B Realty Advisors paid $90 million for the luxury community.

Located close to “The Magnificent Mile” and CTA train and bus service, the property features ground-floor retail space while the homes range in size from 536 square feet to 2,862 square feet. Most of the amenities, such as an indoor heated pool, sauna, exercise room and sundeck, are located at the 25th floor. The community also features a 192-space parking garage.

L&B Realty Advisors is an employee-owned real estate investment advisor that has over $4.4 billion in assets under management.

In other news, ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com reports Ascend Real Estate Group LLC plans to build a nine-story, 216-unit apartment and retail building in the West Loop. The project, located at Madison Street and Racine Avenue, is expected to be completed by 2014, according to Ascend CEO Walter Rebenson.

Upon approval of the project by the city, the purchase of the site from MB Financial Bank will be completed. The plan includes 10,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, 216 luxury apartments and over 200 parking spaces. The amenities will be located on the ninth-floor rooftop and will include a pool and sun deck, banquet rooms and a gym. A landscaped, pet recreational area will also be featured on a second-floor deck above the garage.