DeBartolo buys Prairie Stone Crossing shopping center in Hoffman Estates

There's even more news out of Hoffman Estates' Prairie Stone Business Park, home to Sears Holdings Corp.

Officials today announced the sale of Prairie Stone Crossing, a 61,000 square-foot shopping center off Route 59 and the Addams Tollway, to DeBartolo Development.

The center will be the Tampa, Fla. company's first property in the Chicago market.

The center, opened in 2008, includes four buildings on 7 acres and is anchored by a Sports Authority. Officials said it is 80-percent leased.

The property was hit with a $15.8 million foreclosure lawsuit in August. A news release announcing the sale stated the purchase price was a 49 percent discount to the outstanding loan balance.

“Prairie Stone Crossing's discounted purchase price and location in the affluent Northwest suburbs of Chicago make this a premier investment that is in line with our strategy to invest in distressed assets that present attractive growth opportunities,” Edward Kobel, president and chief operating officer of DeBartolo Development, said in the release.

Hoffman Estates Economic Development Director Gary Skoog said he looks forward to working with DeBartolo in marketing the property as part of the village's Poplar Creek at 59/90 brand, which includes Cabela's and the Sears Centre Arena.

“It's always good when you have a financially-sound owner and the property is out of any kind of financial-rocky waters, so to speak,” Skoog said.

The center is near Sears' campus at Prairie Stone Business Park. Earlier this week, news broke that Sears officials would consider moving out of state after tax breaks offered by the village and state expire next year. Hoffman Estates officials fear that if Sears leaves — taking with it more than 6,200 workers at the headquarters — nearby businesses and retailers would suffer.

The shopping center also includes a 12,000-square-foot retail building and a 6,000-square-foot retail and restaurant building.

Right next to Prairie Stone Crossing is a separate development, Poplar Creek Crossing, which is anchored by a Target.

DeBartolo Development was founded by Edward DeBartolo Sr., who tried to buy the Chicago White Sox in 1980. He's a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center stands.

His son, Edward Bartolo Jr., owned the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL until 2000 when legal problems forced him to cede control of the franchise.