Millie on Michigan apartments sell as investors wager on downtown rebound

A local development team has sold the nearly full apartments and vacant retail property in a Michigan Avenue tower it completed three years ago.

A joint venture of Chicago-based apartment developer Cedar Street and Boca Raton, Fla.-based property investor Kayne Anderson Real Estate bought the 289-unit luxury apartment property and 25,000-square-foot retail space at 300 N. Michigan Ave., the companies confirmed. Neither the buyers nor the sellers, Magellan Development Group and Sterling Bay, shared the purchase price, which couldn’t be found in online property records as of this morning.

The deal was “an opportunity to acquire one of Chicago’s top multifamily assets in a supply-constrained market” and “a vote of confidence in Chicago,” Cedar Street CEO Will Murphy said in a statement.

With fewer than 150 new rental units set to be delivered in downtown Chicago in 2025, apartment buildings are an attractive prospect to investors as rents are on the rise. The median net rent for Class A apartment buildings downtown was $3.91 per square foot in the first quarter of this year, up 6.25% from the same time period in 2024.

The apartments and retail space on the first two floors are part of a 47-story tower that also includes a hotel, which is owned separately. Completed in 2022, the project was able to capitalize on strong rental demand downtown even as the COVID-19 pandemic decimated foot traffic and retail occupancy on North Michigan Avenue and in the Loop. The apartments, dubbed Millie on Michigan, were 96% leased at the time of the sale, while the retail space is vacant.

The tower was a $250 million project. The 280-room hotel portion sold for almost $75 million when it opened, according to Cook County property records.

A Magellan executive deferred comment on the sale to Sterling Bay. A Sterling Bay spokesperson said in a statement that “the Millie on Michigan marked Sterling Bay’s entry into multifamily development in Chicago, and we’ll always have a special affection for it.”

CBRE brokers John Jaeger, Justin Puppi and Jason Zyck represented the sellers in the apartment portion of the transaction, while the brokerage’s Christian Williams and Michael Wilson led the retail portion.

CoStar News first reported on the sale.

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