One of Mount Prospect's biggest rental communities just changed hands in a deal that puts a hefty price tag on local workforce housing. The Element, a 509-unit apartment complex off Dempster Street, sold this week for about $75.3 million to a joint venture of Bender Companies and Eastham Capital. The buyers say they plan to keep the property firmly in the workforce-housing lane while rolling out targeted upgrades to building systems, common areas and select interiors.
Deal details
According to Crain's Chicago Business, the complex at 1550 W. Dempster St. traded for roughly $75.3 million, with Florida-based Monument Capital Management selling the property. Cook County records show Monument paid about $68 million for The Element back in 2017. Sitting on more than 10 acres, the community is positioned as workforce housing for commuters headed to O'Hare and nearby employment centers. The transaction ranks as one of the larger suburban multifamily trades in the Chicago area this season.
Buyers and plans
Bender Companies, which teamed up with Eastham Capital on the acquisition, said the deal lines up with its strategy of buying and improving workforce-housing assets in the Chicago suburbs. "Our acquisition of The Element in Mount Prospect reinforces our commitment to providing quality workforce housing throughout the Chicago MSA," Mark Barnes, Bender's vice president of investments, said in the company's release. Bender also noted that The Element counts among its largest purchases this year and will fold into the firm's growing Illinois portfolio.
Financing and rents
The buyers lined up a $60.8 million Fannie Mae loan for the purchase, featuring a seven-year term, with the financing arranged by NorthMarq. Average asking rent at The Element comes in around $1,658 per month, or roughly $1.69 per square foot, Crain's Chicago Business reports. Those rents land below the broader suburban median net rent at a time when suburban pricing has been climbing, a combination that helps explain why the new owners are talking about a measured capital plan rather than a wholesale overhaul. The loan structure and rent profile leave room to create value through upgrades instead of a full repositioning.
Buyers' local playbook
The Mount Prospect purchase extends an active run in Cook County for Eastham and Bender. Earlier this year, the partners closed on a roughly $75.8 million deal for a 550-unit property in Hoffman Estates, signaling a taste for large, management-intensive suburban communities, according to Bisnow. In that Hoffman Estates transaction, Eastham supplied the majority of the equity while Bender took on day-to-day operations, a division of roles the duo has followed on other projects. Taken together, the moves highlight a broader push by mid-market operators into workforce and value-add suburbs outside Chicago's core.
What residents may see
Bender says first-phase work at The Element will center on infrastructure, amenity upgrades and select interior improvements that enhance resident experience while keeping the community stable, according to the company release. The firm said the acquisition brings its Illinois holdings to more than 5,500 units and that improvements at The Element will roll out over the next 12 to 24 months. For tenants, that likely translates to gradual system-level and common-area projects instead of a rapid, rent-driven repositioning.
