Allstate buys former HSBC site in Prospect Heights

Allstate Insurance Co. has bought the vacant 31.4-acre former home of HSBC North America Holdings in Prospect Heights and plans to demolish the two buildings on the site.

The property at 2700 Sanders Road has sat vacant since HSBC moved its corporate offices to Mettawa in 2008 as part of the company's consolidation of that location with two former Mount Prospect offices.

Allstate, which has its own headquarters down the road, acquired the property for its own future use, said Keith Knapp, the company's director of architecture.

“It was a good real estate investment opportunity for us,” Knapp told the Prospect Heights city council this week.

In the short term, Allstate plans to demolish the buildings, which total 430,000 square feet of space, and return the site to its natural landscape. That will minimize maintenance costs, Knapp said.

Allstate could develop the property later on, but Knapp said the company is currently working on “increasing the density” in its three current buildings on Sanders Road.

City officials are hopeful for future development of the property, which has sat vacant without generating significant property tax revenue for about three years.

“We're disappointed we're not seeing any revenue coming from that site. We hope you'll build something,” Mayor Dolly Vole told Knapp.

The large four-story building on the property has asbestos, and cleanup crews are working on abatement, Knapp said. They're also working on removing florescent lamp ballasts, which contain toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), from both buildings. The property also contains PCB oils that have leaked from a transformer.

The site also has a well that needs to be closed, Knapp said. Athletic courts also will be removed.

Allstate has applied for permits with the city for demolition. The smaller building will be leveled soon, while the larger building will be taken down when environmental cleanup is complete, Knapp said.

The company has donated more than 1,400 items of furniture and other equipment from the old buildings to 15 schools and charities, Knapp said.

The two-building HSBC complex had long been a business landmark in Prospect Heights since the firm, then known as Household Finance, came to town in 1978.