Draper & Kramer Scores $84M Refinance for North Side Rentals

Draper & Kramer snagged a sizable refinance of a huge Chicago apartment complex on Lake Shore Drive, benefitting from its long-established ownership that kept a relatively low debt load on the property ahead of last year’s nosedive in the commercial real estate market.

The Chicago-based developer received a new loan from Bethesda, Maryland-based Walker & Dunlop worth $84 million, secured by Draper’s 740-unit property at 1350-1360 North Lake Shore Drive, according to Cook County property records.

The two-tower, 22-story asset on the Gold Coast has a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units, and the apartments have been owned by Draper for many years, public records show. The property previously secured a total of $44 million in debt from Northwestern Mutual, with the last loan against the complex getting made in 2017. It previously snagged a $65 million debt package back in 2000.

The latest refi closed on Dec. 15. Neither Draper & Kramer nor Walker & Dunlop responded to requests for comment.

One of the building’s more rare amenities, a grocery store that had been there for more than 40 years called Commissary Market, was forced to close after failed lease negotiations with Draper & Kramer, Block Club Chicago reported last year. The property was completed in 1951.

Founded in 1893, Draper has been at the center of several big local deals in recent months. It owns 6,000 multifamily units, according to its website.

In August, the company announced it would build a 131-unit complex in Old Town at 1633-1649 North Halsted Street. The nine-story building would also include 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail.

And in November, the company sold a South Loop property to Antheus Capital, a New Jersey-based investment group. The 24-story, 275-unit apartment building sold for $59 million, with Antheus paying about $218,000 per unit.

Draper & Kramer took a loss on that sale, as it had financed the development with a $69 million construction loan.

Such financial hits were not uncommon last year given the challenges facing landlords of large properties amid a debt market tightened by rising interest rates. Several large apartment complex sales in Chicago had losses in property value for their sellers last year, as rate increases limited the prices buyers could meet.