HSBC moving 1,500 workers to Arlington Heights
HSBC North America Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will be moving about 1,500 workers from other suburban offices into a newly leased office on the former Motorola Inc. campus in Arlington Heights.
The company signed an 11-year agreement with Torburn North Campus LLC to lease a 162,396 square-foot premises at 1421 W. Shure Drive, on the village's north side, officials said, and the redesigned office is scheduled to open in the spring of 2016. HSBC will transfer nearly 1,500 employees from its Mettawa and Elmhurst offices to the Arlington Heights location over several months.
"The Chicagoland area continues to be an important market for HSBC given its strength in manufacturing and international trade," President and CEO Patrick Burke said. "This move underscores HSBC's long-term commitment to this vibrant region. We look forward to being part of the Arlington Heights community while providing a high-quality work environment for our employees."
The site was chosen because its location is convenient for employees and for HSBC to source future talent, according to HSBC, and it will be renovated to be environmentally efficient.
HSBC's global business operations will stay in downtown Chicago near West Monroe and South Wacker, the company said, and employees currently based in the company's Elmhurst office supporting consumer and mortgage lending will remain there.
HSBC North America Holdings Inc. is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, offers financial services in the United States and Canada. It provides personal finance, consumer finance, retail banking, wealth management, commercial banking, private banking, global banking, corporate investment banking, mortgage, insurance and trust services.
In early July, a representative of Torburn talked about the plans for the building to village officials.
"It's one of the largest office campuses we have in Arlington Heights," Charles Perkins, director of planning and community development for the village, said in July.
Motorola and Nokia Siemens had called the campus home, and at one point, had up to 4,500 employees in the several buildings there, Perkins said.
"To have those employees spending money at local businesses on shopping or dining and to bring those jobs back would be fantastic," he had said.
In June, the board approved subdividing the campus - which Torburn bought for nearly $30 million in 2013 - into two parcels, one with the 1421 building and the other with the vacant 1501 W. Shure Drive building. Another building on the campus was torn down last year to create more parking that far outnumbers the amount required by village code.