"I've always been a big fan of Wicker Park, and lived there about 12 years ago," Kaplan tells GlobeSt.com. "We saw the value of that market and the amount of development going on in that market. We saw a valuable opportunity to buy fully-occupied buildings and hold them long term."
Repak has focused on value-add projects, primarily purchasing properties with high vacancy or deferred maintenance, since its founding in 2002, Kaplan says. The company purchased the four properties from Hood Development, which had owned the properties since 2005. Hood previously purchased 1455 Milwaukee for $3.6 million, sources say, but it is unknown what the company paid for 1519-1529 Milwaukee.
A Citibank branch and the office of Dermatology & Aesthetics of Wicker Park operate out of 1455 Milwaukee, while apparel store Urban Outfitters, boutique Hejfina, and clothing store Crossroads Trading Co. occupy 1519-1529 Milwaukee. Kaplan says the lease terms for the tenants are around 10 years, but would not disclose the lease rates. Kaplan says about 75% of the total purchase price for the four properties was financed through JP Morgan Chase.
"It's a great area," Kaplan says. "There's a lot of new condo and single family home developments. It's a very eclectic area, very popular with the under-40 crowd."Kaplan says the economy has presented unique openings in the market." The opportunity is there, though I still think the prices have not reflected the decreased appetite for investors to buy properties like this. We anticipate a significant price drop in the very near term, and when that happens, we plan on jumping on that."
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
