Optima, Inc. has received final village board approval for Optima Lumina, a 128-unit luxury residential building in downtown Wilmette on Chicago’s North Shore.

The six-story building features one- to three-bedroom residences of up to nearly 3,000 square feet, almost 5,900 square feet of retail space, a large public plaza, and a robust amenity package. Replacing the long-vacant former Imperial Motors car dealership located at 720-739 Green Bay Road, the transit-oriented development is located directly across from Wilmette’s Metra rail commuter station.

It is also immediately north of Optima’s 100-unit, high-end rental community, Optima Verdana. “The success of Optima Verdana has demonstrated the high demand for luxury new-construction multifamily housing on the North Shore,” said David Hovey, Jr. AIA, president of Optima, Inc. “Optima Lumina builds on that demand by offering the option for current residents looking to downsize from single-family homes as well as would-be North Shore buyers struggling to find a home due to the area’s low inventory of available housing.”

NexPoint Residential Trust closed on the sale of Old Farm in Houston, a 734-unit property built in 1996. The property was acquired for $84.7 million in 2016. As of March 1, 2024, the property was 91.41% leased with a weighted average effective monthly rent of approximately $1,307.

Net proceeds from the sale were approximately $49.4 million, delivering a trailing nominal tax and insurance adjusted cap rate of 5.36%, a 22.14% levered internal rate of return and a 2.98x multiple on invested capital. The Company will use a portion of the net proceeds from the sale to make a $24 million paydown on the Company’s corporate credit facility, continuing the Company’s strategic de-leveraging and balance sheet improvement initiatives.

“NXRT is pleased to announce the closing of Old Farm, which allows us to deliver a strong return on a 7-year investment, creates almost $50 million of liquidity for the Company and pays off our most expensive debt capital, a long-stated goal,” said the company’s Matt McGraner.