Interra Realty Brokers $19M Sale of River North Apartment Building

Interra Realty has brokered the $19.2 million sale of Paper Box Lofts, a 35-unit multifamily building at 153-157 W. Ohio St. in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The transaction equates to $548,571 per unit. 

Interra Senior Managing Partner Joe Smazal and Director Mark Dykstra represented the buyer, an affiliate of Los Angeles-based Blatteis & Schnur, Inc. Smazal and Dykstra also represented the seller, an affiliate of Chicago-based developer Senco Properties, Inc.

Built in 1906 as a paper and box factory, the building operated as loft offices before the seller converted it into luxury apartments in 2024. The property includes three studios, two convertible, 17 one-bedroom, 12 two-bedroom and one three-bedroom layouts.

“Office-to-residential conversions have become an increasingly common investment strategy in downtown Chicago, particularly at a time when office vacancy has hovered near record highs, and few ground-up apartment buildings are being delivered,” said Smazal. “This was one of the first deals in this cycle of conversions to deliver, stabilize and transact.”

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