CHICAGO—Co-developers Fifield Cos. and Carroll Properties opened E2, a luxury apartment project located at Emerson St. and Maple Ave. in suburban Evanston, just six months ago, but already have the 356-unit development 80% leased. It's another sign that the type of amenity-rich rental property increasingly popular in downtown Chicago also works in the suburbs.

The high demand was not a surprise, Randy Fifield, vice chair of Fifield Cos., tells GlobeSt.com, but "it's been beyond our expectations. We've also had good luck on our side; there hasn't been another brand-new building delivered to this area in quite a while." 

“There is no doubt that E2 has filled a void in the Evanston market,” she adds. “The building's high-end finishes and long list of luxury amenities has elevated luxury rental living on the North Shore to levels that didn't exist before."

"We are right in the center of downtown Evanston," Fifield says, "with everything right at your fingertips." That includes quick access to Chicago, the lakefront and Northwestern University, and the many dining, nightlife, and culture spots that Evanston offers.

E2 consists of two buildings, a 16-story tower at 1881 Oak Ave. and a 14-story tower at 1890 Maple Ave. A four-story structure that includes three floors of parking and an amenity deck connects the two buildings. It also contains 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, which boutique fitness studio exhale Evanston will partially occupy beginning in December. In addition to its tower residences, E2 also has 12 rental townhomes with private entrances along Emerson St.

As reported in GlobeSt.com, Oak Park, another transit-oriented suburb with a historic downtown, has also started to attract projects similar to E2. Late last year, Golub & Co. and Wood Partners began building a massive mixed-use project at Lake St. and Forest Ave. Once completed in early 2016, the 21-story Lake + Forest development will have 270 luxury apartments, 27,000-square-feet of retail and commercial space, and parking for 588 cars in an attached covered garage.

Fifield has recently completed other major projects nearer Chicago's downtown core. Along with Wood Partners, for example, it developed for K2, a 34-story, 496-unit apartment tower at 365 N. Halsted St. in the Fulton River District.

“From Northwestern graduate students and young professionals to downsizing empty nesters, E2 doesn't just meet, but exceeds the needs of today's renters who have elected to rent versus own,” says Fifield.