Schaumburg planning to redevelop much of Motorola site
As Motorola Solutions prepares to downsize its longtime corporate campus in Schaumburg without disappearing from the suburb altogether, village officials are making plans for the land the tech company will leave behind.
Schaumburg's planning, building and development committee Thursday will consider hiring Ginkgo Planning and Design and SB Friedman and Associates to create a land-use plan for 200 acres of the Motorola site, as well as 35 acres across the street at the southeast corner of Meacham and Algonquin roads.
The plan would cost the village $48,000.
While village hopes to redevelop the Motorola for another high-tech industry use, officials want the neighboring 35-acre site for an entertainment district, Schaumburg Community Development Director Julie Fitzgerald said.
That property now includes a Cook County Highway Department facility at the corner, and stretches south toward the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, which officials believe would benefit from an entertainment district.
At a time when many municipalities are struggling with the difficult task of repurposing large corporate campuses, Schaumburg officials hope their close working relationship with Motorola can make for a smoother transition than most.
"Our goal is to keep Motorola on that site," Fitzgerald said. "We're recognizing that campus will look different."
Motorola already sold about 39 acres of its campus along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway to Zurich North America, which is building a new headquarters there. Another 8.2 acres were sold to the Illinois Tollway for construction of a new interchange at Meacham Road.
While it's clear that Motorola won't require as much land as in the past, there has not yet been a specific identification of how much property the company plans retain on its Schaumburg campus, Fitzgerald said.
If the planning committee recommends hiring the consultants, and the village board approves, the plan they create would take about 90 days to prepare, Fitzgerald added.