Tucker, Wingspan Score $100M Skokie Construction Loan

A joint venture of Tucker Development and Wingspan Development Group persevered through a tight lending environment to secure a construction loan for an apartment project in Skokie.

The venture received $100 million in construction financing, propelling its planned 300-unit development at 5400 Old Orchard Road in the northern suburb, according to a news release. California-based investment firm Kennedy Wilson provided a senior debt package, while a separate unidentified insurance partner dished out a mezzanine loan.

“Given the constrained lending environment, the lenders demonstrated confidence in this project and all involved parties,” Aaron Tucker, president and chief investment officer for Tucker Development, said in a statement.

The $100 million loan highlights the robust multifamily demand in the Chicago suburbs, where rents increased by 5.4 percent year-over-year in the second quarter and 23 percent compared to the second quarter of 2021, according to Integra Realty Resources.

The Tucker-Wingspan venture bought the 10.5-acre development site for $13.3 million earlier this year. The office building that’s currently on the property is set to be demolished later this year, and construction of Henry at Harry Farms is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2024.

The site is near the 350-acre Harms Woods Nature Preserve and the Westfield Old Orchard mall, which French developer URW is overhauling to include hundreds of apartments and possibly up to 200,000 square feet of healthcare space.

Elsewhere in the northern suburbs, a venture of DWS Group and Continental Properties aim to build a 254-unit apartment complex in Deerfield. Akin to the Old Orchard mall, that project is part of DWS’s goal of revitalizing the area around the Deerbrook Shopping Center.

The Tucker-Wingspan project, dubbed the Henry at Harms Woods, is slated for 245 luxury apartments, 49 rental townhomes and roughly 10,000 square feet of commercial space. There will be a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Amenities will include a pool, sun deck, fitness center, coworking stations and lounge and grilling areas.