JACKSON PARK HIGHLANDS — A group of out-of-state investors is betting big on the rental market in the Jackson Park Highlands section of South Shore, buying four apartment buildings for $9.5 million.
Drexel Properties has sold 181 units in four buildings to a group of Florida-based investors for $9.5 million — a “pretty good number,” according to the broker.
The broker, Jeff Baasch of Sperry Van Ness, said Wednesday the buildings went under contract quickly after listing in the spring as investors start to look to the South Side for better deals on real estate.
“The returns are a little more interesting on the South Side,” Baasch said. “Property [prices] have gotten pretty high on the North Side.”
MAP: Every Property Sale in the City June-Oct. 2014
Baasch declined to say who bought the buildings at 6715 and 6755 S. Paxton Ave., 6701 S. Merrill Ave. and 6920 S. Ogelsby Ave.
According to county and state records, Florida-based real estate investor Alan Kuatt, president and CEO of the Firestart Group, led the purchase, but it's unclear whether there are other investors.
Kuatt did not return calls for comment.
Baasch said the buyer told him that the buildings would be updated and that it is the first major purchase in the Chicago market for the group.
“It’s a solid area,” said Jeff Weinberg, principal of Drexel Properties, who sold the buildings.
He said Drexel would also sell its remaining 24-unit property in South Shore at 7243 S. Bennett Ave. to continue buying apartment buildings in Logan Square and neighboring communities, where he’s bought five apartment buildings in recent years.
Weinberg said he thought South Shore, particularly around the Jackson Park Highlands, would continue to be attractive to other buyers looking for a stable community close to retail and transportation to Downtown.
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