NOVEMBER 07, 2019
JENNIFER WATERS
Chicago Workforce Housing Complex Changes Hands for First Time Golub, Farpoint and Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group Purchase 20-Acre Site
The massive Prairie Shores apartment complex on Chicago's South Side was developed more than 60 years ago. Two Chicago developers and a Goldman Sachs investment group scooped up a massive workforce apartment community just south of the city’s downtown as the call for affordable housing intensifies across the United States.Golub & Co. and Farpoint Development, two prominent firms behind some of Chicago’s most notable buildings and projects, along with Goldman Sach’s Urban Investment Group, recently acquired the 20-acre Prairie Shores campus which dates back to 1957.
The transaction was the first since the project was built. The price was not disclosed, but the Goldman Sachs group holds the largest stake, according to a statement.
Prairie Shores, developed by 126-year-old real estate services firm Draper & Kramer, also of Chicago, was considered a housing forerunner during the sometimes disruptive urban renewal period that was sweeping the nation at the time it was built. The site was developed over a five-year period that ended in 1961, ultimately creating five 19-story towers with 1,675 residential units.
Though many projects of that era have long been demolished, Prairie Shores persevered in the Bronzeville neighborhood because of its affordability and close location to Lake Michigan, downtown Chicago and transit hubs.
Prairie Shores was constructed in 1958. The complex on Martin Luther King Drive between 26th and 31st streets abuts a South Side section of the city near McCormick Place, one of the busiest convention centers in the United States, and Wintrust Arena, home of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and the DePaul University men’s basketball team.
The area, slow to redevelop over much of the past 50 years, is now playing on fast-forward. New hotels, restaurants and entertainment sites were part of the draw for the buyers, Michael Newman, Golub’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Just east of Prairie Shores is Farpoint’s planned redevelopment of the former Michael Reese Hospital site, which the developer describes as a “transformative project that will be a mixed-use technology, retail and hospitality space encompassing more than 100 acres of pristine Lake Michigan real estate.”
"We are proud that through our investment in Prairie Shores we are helping Bronzeville residents access quality, workforce housing, a key pillar in every healthy neighborhood, for years to come," said Margaret Anadu, head of Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group, in a statement.
It’s unclear what other plans the trio might have for the site. Any drastic changes that would affect tenants and rental rates at a time when the city, like many others across the country, is facing a severe shortage of workforce and affordable housing probably won’t be taken lightly. Requests for comments were not returned.
"Prairie Shores has been a mainstay in the Bronzeville neighborhood since the late 1950s, and we plan to build on its solid reputation while continuing to serve the hard-working families and individuals who currently live there,” Newman said in a statement.
The area has long enjoyed a steady amount of traffic because of the large number of sporting events and oversized conventions in the area. Besides close proximity to major thoroughfares, expressways and expanded bike lanes along King Drive, it also offers a short commute to downtown and pedestrian access to lakefront trails and beaches.
JENNIFER WATERS
Chicago Workforce Housing Complex Changes Hands for First Time Golub, Farpoint and Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group Purchase 20-Acre Site
The massive Prairie Shores apartment complex on Chicago's South Side was developed more than 60 years ago. Two Chicago developers and a Goldman Sachs investment group scooped up a massive workforce apartment community just south of the city’s downtown as the call for affordable housing intensifies across the United States.Golub & Co. and Farpoint Development, two prominent firms behind some of Chicago’s most notable buildings and projects, along with Goldman Sach’s Urban Investment Group, recently acquired the 20-acre Prairie Shores campus which dates back to 1957.
The transaction was the first since the project was built. The price was not disclosed, but the Goldman Sachs group holds the largest stake, according to a statement.
Prairie Shores, developed by 126-year-old real estate services firm Draper & Kramer, also of Chicago, was considered a housing forerunner during the sometimes disruptive urban renewal period that was sweeping the nation at the time it was built. The site was developed over a five-year period that ended in 1961, ultimately creating five 19-story towers with 1,675 residential units.
Though many projects of that era have long been demolished, Prairie Shores persevered in the Bronzeville neighborhood because of its affordability and close location to Lake Michigan, downtown Chicago and transit hubs.
Prairie Shores was constructed in 1958. The complex on Martin Luther King Drive between 26th and 31st streets abuts a South Side section of the city near McCormick Place, one of the busiest convention centers in the United States, and Wintrust Arena, home of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky and the DePaul University men’s basketball team.
The area, slow to redevelop over much of the past 50 years, is now playing on fast-forward. New hotels, restaurants and entertainment sites were part of the draw for the buyers, Michael Newman, Golub’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Just east of Prairie Shores is Farpoint’s planned redevelopment of the former Michael Reese Hospital site, which the developer describes as a “transformative project that will be a mixed-use technology, retail and hospitality space encompassing more than 100 acres of pristine Lake Michigan real estate.”
"We are proud that through our investment in Prairie Shores we are helping Bronzeville residents access quality, workforce housing, a key pillar in every healthy neighborhood, for years to come," said Margaret Anadu, head of Goldman Sachs' Urban Investment Group, in a statement.
It’s unclear what other plans the trio might have for the site. Any drastic changes that would affect tenants and rental rates at a time when the city, like many others across the country, is facing a severe shortage of workforce and affordable housing probably won’t be taken lightly. Requests for comments were not returned.
"Prairie Shores has been a mainstay in the Bronzeville neighborhood since the late 1950s, and we plan to build on its solid reputation while continuing to serve the hard-working families and individuals who currently live there,” Newman said in a statement.
The area has long enjoyed a steady amount of traffic because of the large number of sporting events and oversized conventions in the area. Besides close proximity to major thoroughfares, expressways and expanded bike lanes along King Drive, it also offers a short commute to downtown and pedestrian access to lakefront trails and beaches.