Lombard apartment complex sold

Naperville-based Marquette Companies, a commercial and multifamily residential development and management firm, has entered into a joint venture with Dallas-based Crow Holdings to acquire City View at the Highlands, a 403-unit apartment complex in Lombard, from Sentinel Real Estate.

The two firms plan to renovate the property at 2720 S. Highland Ave., Lombard, by overhauling its fitness center and clubhouse and rehabbing its 403 apartments. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are looking forward to improving the desirability of this high-potential property," said Nick Ryan, CEO of Marquette Companies. "With the combination of our physical renovations and Marquette's lifestyle services, we anticipate the demand will be strong and our investment will grow well."

The sale is the second-biggest suburban apartment deal so far this year, after Connor Group's $105 million acquisition of Stonebridge of Arlington Heights in February, according to a report from Appraisal Research Counselors, a Chicago-based consulting firm.

"The suburban market has been very stable. We feel we are in an excellent position with this acquisition," said Marquette President Darren Sloniger. "Suburban occupancies are high, rents keep rising and development is rising."

Developed in 2003, City View was 96.5 percent occupied at the end of the second quarter.

Marquette's other local properties include Catalyst, a 223-unit apartment building it developed in the West Loop, a 278-unit tower in the South Loop that it's in the process of selling and an apartment project in the works in West suburban Lisle. The company has more than 11,000 units under management and has completed more than $1.5 billion in value-add acquisitions and ground up development since the last downturn.