A 198-unit apartment building that replaced a grocery store on Chicago’s North Side is for sale, adding to an already lengthy shopping list for multifamily investors in the city.
JLL brokers have been hired by developer Optima to seek a buyer for the Optima Lakeview building at 3478 N. Broadway, according to a marketing brochure.
The offering adds to a slew of large apartment buildings already on the market downtown and on the North Side. A dearth of new construction in the city has fueled strong rent growth relative to other markets, leading to some high-dollar sales and prompting other property owners to test the market.
Optima, a Glencoe, Illinois-based real estate development and design firm, completed the glassy, eight-story building on the former Treasure Island grocery store site in 2022.
That project came after the local grocery chain abruptly went out of business in 2018.
It’s unclear how much Optima is expecting in a sale. The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoStar News on Tuesday.
Major sales in the city have included the $170 million sale of the 375-unit Fulbrix tower in Fulton Market in April, which was the highest-priced multifamily sale in the city since 2023.
Overall Chicago-area sales have totaled $2.3 billion so far in 2025, compared with $3.9 billion for full-year 2024 and $4 billion in 2023, according to CoStar data.
Properties that have gone on the market for sale in recent months include The Mason, a 363-unit tower in Fulton Market; the 451-unit Left Bank tower at 300 N. Canal St., just east of Fulton Market; and the 275-unit Milieu tower along the edge of the Greektown and Fulton Market neighborhoods.
From groceries to residents
Optima bought the vacant grocery store for $12.85 million in July 2019, according to Cook County property records.
The firm knocked down the grocery store and secured a nearly $63.3 million construction loan from Village Bank & Trust to kick off the project. Optima refinanced the property in March, taking out $56 million in permanent debt from PNC Bank and paying off the construction loan, property records show.
JLL is marketing the property as the opportunity to buy a new building in a high-density neighborhood where large apartment developments are relatively rare.
Optima Lakeview includes large outdoor areas such as private balconies and a large rooftop deck with a pool, spa, party room, fire pits and grilling stations. There also is a fitness center, indoor basketball and pickleball courts and sports lounge with putting green.
The property is more than 91% leased, with asking rents of $4,372 per unit and $4.13 per square foot, according to CoStar data.
North Side demand
Large sales on the North Side this year have included the nearly $114 million sale of the 191-unit Elevate Lincoln Park and the nearly $87 million sale of the 292-unit Cobbler Square complex in Old Town.
Amid high borrowing and construction costs, some developers are teeing up smaller projects to meet high demand in Lakeview.
That includes an ongoing project to replace buildings across the street from Wrigley Field with a 29-unit building, plans to repurpose and add on to the 124-year-old Briar Street Theater building to create a 66-unit multifamily property, and a proposal to replace Torstenson Glass’ longtime home in the 3200 block of Sheffield Avenue with a 92-unit apartment building.
For the record
The seller is represented by JLL brokers Mark Stern, Kevin Girard, Zach Kaufman and Betsy Romenesko.