Old Arlington Heights office building near Bears property demolished for redevelopment
An old office building on the outskirts of the Arlington Park property met the same fate as the demolished racetrack buildings, with an eye toward the same property tax savings the Chicago Bears are trying to achieve.
Demolition crews were seen this week picking apart the three-story, 43,800-square-foot building on the northwest corner of Euclid Avenue and Salt Creek Lane. The site is in the shadow of the 326-acre former racetrack property now owned by the NFL franchise.
Marketing materials from Crosstown Real Estate Advisors, owner of the 3025 Salt Creek Lane site, include maps showing its proximity to the Bears’ proposed stadium district some 300 yards to the northeast.
The property is “adjacent to what will become one of the Midwest(’s) largest developments in a generation — and potentially be the future home of the Chicago Bears,” according to the real estate firm’s website.
The marketing brochure from broker Cabanban, Rubin & Mayberry Commercial Realty shows three potential concepts for the 2.5-acre Salt Creek Lane site: two fast food restaurants with drive-thrus; an 18,000-square-foot commercial building divisible into five retail units; or a 5,000-square-foot sit-down restaurant with neighboring 6,500-square-foot commercial building.
The brochure also states the site is ideal for hotel or medical use.
Charles Witherington-Perkins, the village’s director of planning and community development, said those preliminary ideas have been floated, but nothing formal has been submitted to village hall.
In the meantime, the office building had been vacant — its last major tenant, Federated Foods, moved just up the road on Salt Creek Lane — while the new property owner hopes for a lower assessment as the site is marketed and a development plan comes together, Perkins said.
Commercial properties in Cook County are assessed at 25% of the fair market value, but vacant sites can be assessed at 10%.
An office use is not likely, Perkins believes.
“The office market is not the greatest right now, and that’s probably not the strongest location for office either,” Perkins said. “At this time, anyway.”
The site is adjacent to the 27-acre Arlington Downs mixed-use redevelopment of apartments, offices and retail. The original developer looked at acquiring the neighboring office building and incorporating it into larger plans, but didn’t move forward, Perkins said.