EVANSTON, IL-A partnership of Crossbeam Capital LLC, based in Bethesda, MD and Houston-based Concierge Asset Management have purchased a 2-year-old apartment building here for less than $30 million just 45 days before the property went into foreclosure. The building, at 415 Howard St., was completed in 2008 at a cost of $58 million.

The idea for the 17-story, 221-unit building was first proposed in January 2004 by Bristol Chicago Development LLC, headed by developer William Walsh. At the time, city officials were wary of the building’s height and thought maybe condos should be considered instead.

Apartments won out, possibly fortunate for the property now that the Chicago condo market has gone south. The building is 65% occupied, but the developers met with tragedy along the way: Walsh died in a fall in early 2008. Bristol did not meet the loan payments on the $43 million debt obligation to lenders PNC Bank NA and Banco Popular.

Brad Blash, chief acquisitions officer for Crossbeam, says the joint venture entered the picture soon after a notice of default on the loan was filed. He tells GlobeSt.com that the venture was looking for properties it could acquire and take over quickly. “We look for institutional-grade apartment buildings that have quick access to transportation and retail,” Blash says.

The building, now named Skyline, is the first purchase by the venture. “We will be looking to invest in similar distressed properties in all major markets,” Blash says.

Tom Cabibi, director of acquisitions for Concierge, said in a statement that there will be other Chicago purchases. “While we have $1 billion of challenged assets in our acquisition pipeline, most are bank and lender real estate owned and non-performing loans on problem properties,” he said.

Though the building is new, the venture will invest $2.2 million on infrastructure and upgrade, including work to make the property more sustainable, Blash says. Another marketing tool the venture is using is to price the apartments cheaper than the competition, with rents at the units, averaging 833 square feet, at $1,175 per month.