In an age of increasing development costs and growing paucity of available land, much rides on every real estate project. That’s why most large multifamily endeavors involve collaborations of specialists intently focused on their respective areas of expertise. This team includes architect, developer and general contractor, who ultimately turn over the reins of completed properties to a property manager or sales broker.
Scour the nation’s multifamily industry, and you’re unlikely to find many firms bucking this trend. One that unabashedly does is Glencoe, Ill.-based Optima, Inc. Founded by acclaimed architect David Hovey, Optima Inc. has handled all these roles for each Chicago-area and Arizona project it has undertaken since launching in 1978.
Most recently, Optima’s projects have included Chicago’s Optima Signature, a 480-unit LEED Silver Certified luxury rental high-rise with 58,000 square feet of retail and professional space in the Streeterville enclave on the northern edge of downtown.
Another, Optima Chicago Center, is a sleek 42-story, 325-unit luxury rental building with 20,000 square feet of retail, also in Streeterville, that opened in six years ago.
Optima Kierland Center in Scottsdale, Ariz. is a development incorporating two phases. The first will yield 160 rental units and 231 condominiums, the second 213 rental apartments and 202 condominiums. Both are slated for completion in 2020. The development’s sustainable design won the recognition of the International Green Construction Code, which establishes requirements intended to increase the positive impacts and reduce the negative effects of the built environment.
Optima’s earlier work includes Optima Old Orchard Woods in Skokie, Ill. and Optima Horizons, Optima Towers and Optima Views in Evanston, Ill. The firm’s previous developments in Arizona include Optima Sonoran Village and Optimal Camelview Village in Scottsdale, and Optima Biltmore Towers in Phoenix.
All together, over its 41-year history the company has designed, developed and constructed 5,300 luxury rental and for-sale residences across 31 projects. Its ability to monitor and ensure quality by overseeing every development phase has helped Optima capture a number of national awards celebrating thoughtful development.
But that’s not all it has enabled.
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