Demolition of massive former Sears HQ in Hoffman Estates reaches completion
Just under a year after it began, structural demolition of the 2.4-million-square-foot Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates ended Tuesday with the final stairwell of the east parking garage coming down.
“Of course, we will continue crushing concrete and asphalt for reuse as fill as we get the site pad ready,” said Katy Hancock, vice president of public relations for Dallas-based Compass Datacenters. “All of this will be completed by end of August 2025, slightly ahead of schedule.”
That’s when the 273-acre site at the west end of the village will transition to a construction site for Compass’ five hyperscale data centers, each more than a quarter-million square feet.
The project represents a $10 billion investment by the Texas firm and its partners.
The data centers, which might all share a single tenant, will use water-free cooling and hydrogenated vegetable oil-based fuels for backup power, as well as taking additional sustainable measures. Construction of the campus is anticipated to create about 1,000 jobs.
But for three decades the property was the home of 20th century retail giant Sears until it was put up for sale in 2021.
At its peak, the campus was home to about 9,000 employees. But the firm’s 2018 bankruptcy filing was a major turning point in its long and largely successful history.
The headquarters’ last remaining workers were sent home due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and never returned.
Compass purchased the site in 2023. Interior preparation of the buildings began in April 2024, followed by the start of structural demolition in mid-August.
The Sears headquarters was once among the 30 largest structures in the world in terms of square footage, significantly ahead of the more vertical John Hancock and Empire State buildings, according to Jeff Olson, project executive for Carol Stream-based American Demolition.
Compass officials said American Demolition was selected for the removal project for its ability to minimize waste and maximize reuse of materials.
Dominick DiSilvio, American Demolition’s vice president of estimating, said last year that about 95% of the structure would be recycled — keeping 400 million pounds of debris out of landfills.
Hoffman Estates officials said each data center building is expected to take 14 to 16 months to build, with the final design dependent on knowing who the tenant will be. The overall development is likely to take three to four years.