Greenleaf Foods signs lease in renovated Lisle office building

Plant-based meat substitute manufacturer Greenleaf Foods is planning to open a new "innovation lab" and test kitchen at a newly renovated office building in Lisle.

Oakbrook Terrace-based commercial real estate firm NAI Hiffman said Greenleaf Foods will become the first major tenant at the building, located at 2200 Cabot Drive. Greanleaf signed a lease for 23,000 square feet in the 131,000-square-foot multitenant building, and will move in later this year.

A company spokesman said the Lisle location would be a hub for research and innovation of its plant-based brands Lightlife and Field Roast, and will include a test kitchen and pilot plant, as well as a lab and office space.

Greenleaf Foods' corporate offices will remain at 180 W. Park Ave. in Elmhurst, the spokesman said.

"Greenleaf Foods was able to reutilize a good portion of an existing test kitchen we had at the building, which resulted in significant cost savings for both the tenant and the landlord," said NAI Hiffman Executive Vice President Patrick Kiefer, who with Senior Associate Ryan Maher represented building owner RE Development in the transaction.

The five-story building features a two-story glass atrium, test kitchen space, on-site ownership and property management, and nearly 400 parking spaces, including 29 heated underground executive spaces.

RE Development's renovations include a new lobby, a tenant lounge with micro-market, conference rooms, new restrooms and corridors, new HVAC mechanicals, a new roof and fresh landscaping.

"Lisle's corporate corridor is experiencing a resurgence with the addition of Greenleaf Foods as the latest example of companies recognizing the opportunities and benefits of Lisle's corporate corridor," Lisle Mayor Christopher Pecak said in a statement. "Greenleaf joins technology companies AST and Remprex and the life science software company Anju as newer tenants in the corridor."