SEA CHANGE FOR APARTMENTS

Village Green Cos chairman Jonathan Holtzmansays the for-sale housing market will improve in the next few years and some renters will want to be owners—but he's not worried about the health of the apartment market. (He knows that the apartment market has a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and aggressive investors.)
 
Jonathan's coming to Chicago on March 13 (next week—it's sneaking up on us, register here) to be part of the Bisnow Multifamily Summit. Above, he's offering his thoughts during the grand opening of the company's Detroit City Apartments last year in Detroit's CBD, near Comerica Park and Ford Field. As the US economy improves, Jonathan tells us that some renters will move into ownership. The move isn't going to be a rush—renting has emerged from the recession as more than just a way-station before owning, but a viable long-term option for many individuals and families.
 
In early March, Bisnow dropped in on Village Green's most recent downtown Chicago project—Randolph Tower City Apartments, which just started tenant move-ins. We thought the lobby, above, had some snap to it. The 45-story, landmark structuredates from the late 1920s, and Village Green has redeveloped it into more than 300 apartments. Downtown Chicago is just the place for such a property to succeed, Jonathan explains, because there's long been a base of young professionals there looking for stylish digs, and now Chicago businesses are beginning to hire (and rehire) more of those young pros.
Ed Ryder, director of acquisitions at Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, will also be joining Bisnow at the event. Ed tells us a few multifamily markets are experiencing excessive pricing because of fits of "irrational exuberance"among apartment investors these days (to use a turn of phrase once favored by Alan Greenspan). It's the result of a tremendous amount of capital focusing like a cruise missile(Ed's turn of phrase) on Class-A properties in major coastal locations. He points out that there are still reasonably priced properties available in less glamorous markets that will offer savvy investors decent long-term returns: think Tampa, parts of Phoenix, and no doubt a few other places he wants to keep to himself.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Chicago Newsletters
Related Stories

How Crystal Lake 'Connects The Dots' To Building Complete Community

Downtown Atlanta Improvement Group Picks Food Bank Chief As Next Leader

Trump's DEI Crackdown Is Creating New Risks For Landlords That Lease To The Government

Brandon Johnson Seeks Second Term Amid Strained CRE Relationship

Prologis Acquires 69 Acres For 1M SF Chicago-Area Industrial Development

Former CBRE Exec Suing Brokerage Giant Over Age Discrimination, Whistleblower Complaint

D.C. Investor Behind The Stacks Swaps CEO For First Time In 25 Years

First LaSalle Street Reimagined Conversion Opens In Chicago's Loop

CBRE IM Buys Net Lease REIT For $1.6B, Plans More Investment

The Difference Between Service And Hospitality That Makes A Flexible Workspace A Success

Beyond The Boom: How Miami's CRE Market Continues To Be Resilient

Inland Scoops Up 2 Senior Living Facilities: The Chicago Deal Sheet