One of the new owners of the Lincoln Yards site in Chicago has bought two more properties nearby, continuing to assemble prime land for a major development in the years to come.
Affiliates of Novak Construction last week paid just over $6 million for properties at 1685 N. Elston Ave. and 1907 N. Mendell St. on the city’s North Side, according to online property records.
The seller was Sterling Bay, the Chicago developer that in recent years had planned a $6 billion, mixed-use project on nearby land along the Chicago River.
Novak has now bought at least four properties bordering Lincoln Yards from Sterling Bay in recent weeks, after previously acquiring the southern portion of the megadevelopment site.
Sterling Bay and its partner for the southern part of Lincoln Yards, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, sold 18 acres of the land late last year to the firm led by John Novak for $34 million.
Then, last month, Sterling Bay sold two other parcels along Lincoln Yards, at 1500 W. Cortland St. and 1901 N. Elston, to Novak for a little more than $2.6 million.
Sterling Bay has listed several adjacent properties for sale in recent years as its grip on Lincoln Yards began to loosen.
Separate deals involving the same buyer and seller give Novak an expanded slate for the firm’s yet-to-be-disclosed development vision for the area.
Sterling Bay declined to comment on the sales. Novak did not respond to requests for comment from CoStar News.
The most recently acquired properties are brick, industrial structures that could be demolished or repurposed as part of broader development expected in the area.
Since 2020, Novak has owned nearby land where the former Stanley’s Fresh Fruits & Vegetables produce market once stood at 1548 to 1558 N. Elston.
Sterling Bay bought 1685 N. Elston and 1907 N. Mendell for just over $11.3 million combined in separate purchases in 2018, according to Cook County property records.
Chicago-based JDL Development and Boca Raton, Florida-based Kayne Anderson Real Estate bought the northern part of Lincoln Yards for almost $84 million late last year. That came after Sterling Bay and partner Lone Star Funds surrendered that land to lender Bank OZK.
After buying the northern land from the lender, JDL and Kayne Anderson won zoning approval to build more than 3,000 residential units on the land they control. That project is branded Foundry Park.