MULTIFAMILY MONDAY; THE DEAL SHEET

This is the tale of two residences, a ground-up luxury condo in Lincoln Park and an apartment rehab in Lakeview. What they have in common: an unprecedented emphasis on outdoor space. (Anyone who thinks this isn't the start of a romantic comedy hasn't been in the CRE business long enough.)

Tandem Construction's Tony Andrews (above, on Friday) tells us his general contracting company was also the developer on the six condos at 1725 N Burling in Lincoln Park that replaced the old MB Pilgrim Baptist Church in '08. Tony says Tandem spent $250/SF on the construction and put in subzero fridges, Brazilian cherry wood, mosaic tiles—all the luxury fixings. The 2,700 SF units sold for about $820k/SF. The fifth-floor penthouse, including roof rights, sold for $2.25M, and the buyer poured another $500k—almost 25% of the purchase price—into that roof deck.

Tandem is the general contractor on the in-process gut rehab of a six-unit apartment building in Lakeview (above). A local investor intended this for private use but went the rental way when the neighborhood rejected that idea, Tony says. The owner put a similar proportional value on the yard as Tandem had on its condos. Tony says that's what tenants want nowadays, whether ground-up or rehab, even for student housing. Now if someone would just invent outdoor air conditioning.