ROGERS PARK — Lincoln Square investment group Winnemac Properties spent $20 million to acquire 220 residential units across four Rogers Park buildings, brokerage firm Kiser Group announced Monday.
"Rogers Park and other North Side Chicago neighborhoods have been seeing a surge of investor interest due to a migration in renters looking to escape pricier rents," Kiser said. "Some tenants fear that as more newly renovated apartments develop, rental prices will increase and force them out."
The buildings are at 1412 W. Chase Ave., 6945 N. Ashland Ave., 1310 W. Lunt Ave. and 1257 W. Lunt Ave. and include a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that will be renovated.
The rentals are currently owned by Ansonia Properties.
Lee Kiser, principal broker with Kiser Group, said the apartments would be "high-quality and well-managed, but not luxury" in order to attract tenants, yet keep the neighborhood affordable.
Winnemac Properties, which will take over the units, is a member of the Rogers Park Builders Group and manages properties in 15 Chicago neighborhoods, primarily on the North Side.
Far North Side neighborhoods like Rogers Park and Edgewater have traditionally been known to offer renters more space for less money, though interest in the area's real estate has surged in the last few years.
Some developers proposing new buildings have pegged Edgewater as ready for "high rent" micro-apartments. Home prices in Edgewater have skyrocketed by 50 percent in the last year.
Earlier this month, Kiser brokered an $18.9 million deal between The Kopley Group and Spirit Vascom Ventures, which bought the 1920s vintage nine-story building at 6801 N. Sheridan Road.
Those apartments, mainly studios and one-bedrooms, are to be renovated as well.
A map of average rent prices from real estate website Trulia shows Far North Side rentals higher in places along Sheridan Road, extending through Edgewater and Rogers Park.
A pocket of Edgewater Beach between Balmoral and Bryn Mawr avenues boasts the priciest units.
Rents in Edgewater were typically higher, with Rogers Park still remaining a mix between low and medium-low prices. West Ridge apartments were the cheapest of the three Far North Side neighborhoods.
From January to June, the average price of rent in Chicago increased from $1,437 to $1,540 (or $103), but has remained stagnant at $1,500 since gently sloping down in August.
The price plateau has helped the number of units rented more than double since January.
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