Allstate Corp. building in Wheeling facing demolition

Real estate developers want to construct an industrial building where an Allstate Corp. facility now stands in Wheeling.

JCW Development is behind the proposal for the 3-acre site at 100 E. Palatine Road. A JCW representative and members of his team publicly unveiled the plan during Monday night’s village board meeting.

Built in 1970, the existing one-story building is west of Wolf Road and the Chicago Executive Airport. It had been a training facility for Allstate, but the Northbrook-based insurance industry giant stopped using most of the nearly 63,000-square-foot building during the COVID-19 pandemic, Village Manager Jon Sfondilis said.

Some employees remained onsite until just a few months ago, Sfondilis said. Blue signs on the property still identify it as an Allstate “claims learning & development center.”

JCW Development has proposed constructing a roughly 60,000-square-foot building. It will have one or two light manufacturing or light industrial tenants, JCW Senior Development Manager Will Scott told the board Monday.

JCW intends to complete the purchase of the site in October, Scott said. Demolition could begin in February 2027, and construction could begin in March or April, Scott said. The building could be ready for tenants by the end of 2027, he said.

Trustees and Village President Pat Horcher informally supported the project Monday. Trustee Ray Lang called the plan a “great re-use of this property.”

If the proposal progresses, it’ll be reviewed by the village’s plan commission before eventually coming back to the village board for formal consideration.

Illinois Department of Transportation officials need to approve the proposal, too, because it’ll require use of Frontage Road.