The Hensley, a 43-unit apartment at 707 N. Wells St., is going condo and rebranding as a luxury residence: Château on Wells.
Standing 11 stories tall, the building was completed in 2016 and is owned by Akara Partners. As the rental units transform into for-sale condominiums, they will offer one to three bedrooms and be priced from $443,000 to roughly $1 million.
“There is a real need for new luxury condos that aren’t at a luxury price point,” Matt Laricy told Chicago Agent. Laricy, who is managing partner of Americorp, serves as listing agent for the Château on Wells. “If you want to get into a newer building right now, you have to spend well over a million in this location,” he said.
According to Crain’s, currently, there is less than four months’ worth of inventory available for condos in the Château on Wells price range in River North.
In a press release, Akara Partners CEO Rajen Shastri reflected on the choice to transform the space at 707 N. Wells St. “As rents continue to increase, and as people make life choices to stay in a place for a longer period, the idea of buying a condo and building home equity while still living this elevated, urban lifestyle could be a great alternative for current renters,” Shastri said. However, he added, “Few newly built condo projects in urban centers are affordable for most buyers.”
Rending of a model unit at Château on Wells
“By reverse-engineering a typical mortgage for an average-priced condo in our building, the cost is equivalent to paying the monthly rent on tens of thousands of current city apartments, and rents are expected to continue to increase annually,” Shastri went on, noting that Akara hopes to attract “city dwellers who moved to the suburbs during COVID.”
A rendering of the lobby at Château on Wells
Luxury touches to attract those buyers will include a new, “Parisian” look, headed by Aleksandra Nova Design with a lobby “inspired by the opulence of a French château.” According to the press release, the Château on Wells marks the first Class-A, multi-family apartment building in River North to turn into luxury condos since the 2008 recession.
The conversion may also signal a shifting trend downtown as, just last month, the development firm Crescent Heights announced that 850 N. Lake Shore Drive, formerly known as the Lakeshore Athletic Club, is also becoming condos.