Breneman Plans To Spend $80M More After West Loop Multifamily Buys

A Chicago-based real estate investor closed another multifamily deal in the West Loop and has plans to deploy capital on the North Side this year.

Breneman Capital paid $18.5 million to buy the 52-unit Adams Laflin Place apartments at 128 South Laflin Street, the Chicago Business Journal reported.

The deal closed Dec. 29 for almost $356,000 per unit. Michigan Avenue Real Estate Group was the seller. Steve Horvath and Marc Bombicino of CRE Advising represented Breneman; Al Lieberman and Chris Draper of B. Riley Real Estate represented Michigan Avenue Real Estate in the sale.

The deal comes on the heels of Breneman’s acquisition of another small apartment complex in the West Loop, also from Michigan Avenue Real Estate, which is backed by Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Breneman paid close to $381,000 per unit to buy a 47-unit complex at 33 South Ashland Avenue, which was built in 2018. That $18 million deal included the assumption of a $13 million mortgage.

Those were the firm’s first two buys since 2020, Breneman founder and CEO Drew Breneman told the outlet.

The firm plans to spend $80 million acquiring property across all of its target markets this year, Breneman said. He didn’t say how much of that will be spent in Chicago, but the firm plans to buy in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park and Logan Square. Arizona, Texas, “and perhaps one or two other markets,” are also targets, he said.

The Adams Laflin apartments were built in 2020, and they’re 97 percent occupied, the outlet said. Breneman’s Dwelle Properties will take over management, and no renovations are planned.

Breneman holds 16 multifamily buildings comprising 334 units in the Chicago market, the outlet said.

The firm also purchased the 72-unit Madison Throop Place apartments at 1247 West Madison Street from Michigan Avenue Real Estate for $33 million, or $458,000 per unit, in 2020.

—Rachel Stone