A Florida-based real estate investment firm cofounded by former MLB star Alex Rodriguez has sold a 509-unit apartment complex in the Chicago suburbs for more than $75 million, cashing in after renovating most of the units.
Bender Cos. and Eastham Capital this week announced the purchase of The Element, a workforce housing complex at 1550 Dempster St. in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
The sale price was $75.25 million, according to a spokesperson for the seller, Monument Capital Management. That is above the $68 million that the firm paid in 2017, according to CoStar data.
Miami-based Monument Capital Management, which owns thousands of units throughout the country, is part of A-Rod Corp., the business empire for which Rodriguez is chairman and CEO.
Rodriguez played for the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees and is No. 5 on the all-time home run list with 696. He retired in 2016.
The complex's sale comes as Chicago-area multifamily rent growth ranks among the best in the nation’s largest markets, in part because of a slowdown in construction in recent years.
“Over the hold period, we executed a comprehensive value-add program, renovating more than 75 percent of the apartment homes and upgrading key amenities, which strengthened the property’s position in a highly resilient Midwest submarket,” Erin Knight, president of Monument Capital Management, said in a statement to CoStar News. “The sale aligns with our business plan and investment horizon. We continue to pursue opportunities in thriving suburbs where strong fundamentals support long-term renter demand.”
The property is considered workforce housing, an affordable middle ground in the rental housing market.
In a similar deal early this year, Chicago-based Bender and Boca Raton, Florida-based Eastham paid $75.8 million for the 550-unit Haven Hoffman Estates apartment complex in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, Illinois. That property was rebranded as Hoffman Hills Apartments.
Built in the 1960s, the Mount Prospect property is just over 4% vacant, with asking rents of $1,699 per unit and $1.73 per square foot, according to CoStar data.
The deal increases the size of Bender’s portfolio to more than 5,500 units, the company said in a statement.
Bender plans to upgrade building systems, exterior areas and some interior spaces, building on improvements already made by the seller, the statement said.
“Our acquisition of The Element in Mount Prospect reinforces our commitment to providing quality workforce housing throughout the Chicago MSA,” Mark Barnes, vice president of investments for Bender, said in the statement. “The Element offers just about as convenient and strategic a suburban Chicago location as you can find, sitting next to both O’Hare International Airport and the Elk Grove Village Business Park, the largest of its kind in North America.”