Trilogy Real Estate Group Lists Skokie Condo Portfolio

Trilogy Real Estate Group is exploring the sale of 183 North Shore condos as part of a broader portfolio reshuffling.

The multifamily investor has tapped commercial real estate giant CBRE to market its portfolio of rental units at the Optima Old Orchard Woods, a 660-unit condo complex consisting of three interlocking 20-story towers in Skokie, Crain’s reported. CBRE’s John Jaeger, Justin Puppi and Jason Zyck have the listing.

Trilogy, led by CEO Neil Gehani, bought 172 condo units in 2016 for $44.2 million, or $257,000 per unit. The firm’s portfolio has since expanded to 183 units, valued between $50 million and $60 million. At an average of $55 million, the portfolio is valued at roughly $300,500 per unit.

Of the company’s 183 condos, 57 are one-bedroom apartments, 104 are two-bedroom units and 22 are three-bedroom units. These units, located at 9739 Woods Drive, are 96 percent occupied, with an average rent of $2,922 per month, or $2.33 per square foot, according to CBRE.

The complex was built by Glencoe-based Optima between 2005 and 2008. The financial downturn made it difficult for the developer to sell all of its units, leading to a shift toward rentals. Trilogy had previously considered deconverting one of the towers, but some Optima residents opposed the plan.

A Skokie ordinance requires 85 percent owner approval for such conversions, a threshold raised from 75 percent in 2022.

An investor acquiring the portfolio has multiple options, Jaeger said. The buyer could continue renting out the units and attempt to acquire additional units to reach the 85 percent ownership threshold, or sell the units individually.

The listing follows Trilogy’s recent move to sell an 11-property multifamily portfolio across the Midwest and South, including the 138-unit NoCa Blu in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.

— Andrew Terrell