Early Innings for Suburban Multifamily
Multifamily has a long way to go in the Chicago suburbs due to sluggish job growth and high barriers to entry for development, said Tracy Cross & Associates EVP and managing partner Eric Doersching at CREW’s recent networking luncheon at the East Bank Club. Existing stabilized supply has low vacancy and rising rental rates, but there have only been three new apartment developments/year on average since 1995 in the ‘burbs (if you take out rental-friendly Aurora and Naperville). Eric’s hot tip: there are opportunities for new suburban rentals in the corridor east of Randall Road between IL Route 53 and I-55, a regional center of employment where many currently suffer through long commutes. (In the land of the unforgiving traffic, the shortest route is king.)
