Rebirth of former Motorola campus in Arlington Heights nearly complete
The planned renovation of a vacant 215,000-square-foot building into a warehouse and distribution center represents one of the last pieces in the reoccupancy of the former 66-acre Motorola campus on Arlington Heights' north side, village officials said.
Some $4.4 million in improvements are planned for the industrial site at 1455 W. Shure Drive, east of Route 53 and south of Dundee Road. That's where a still-undisclosed national firm plans to bring its short-term warehousing, sorting and distribution operation, officials said.
The building has been vacant since Nokia Siemens left in December 2017. It's one building in what was formerly a sprawling Motorola campus.
The new company plans to do interior demolition, build out office space, install dock equipment, expand the parking lot, and install new heating and cooling and alarm systems, according to a project description.
After renovations, plans are to have the trucking operation up and running later this year, officials said, with as many as 200 cars and 260 trucks entering and exiting the site on a daily basis.
The business would have 181 delivery drivers, 130 part-time package handlers and 30 management employees.
Last week, property owner Griffin Capital secured the village board's support of a Cook County Class 6b property tax incentive, which would allow the property to be assessed at lower levels over the course of a dozen years.
Word of the new industrial/office facility comes as renovation work continues across the street at a 195,300-square-foot office building at 1501 W. Shure Drive. That's where a new building user plans to occupy about half the space for its backup network operations center and business resumption training suite. It also has rights to the remainder of the building, village officials said.
While village officials and the property manager have said the new tenant wishes to remain confidential, a village building permit posted at the construction site has said United Airlines.
Crews have been making several security-related upgrades to the property since last fall, when village trustees approved changes to a previously approved development plan for the area, also known as Northwest Crossings, and nine variations. Work includes installation of an 8-foot-tall security fence around the property, gated entry points with guard houses, two large generators, stormwater upgrades and a reconfiguration of parking lots.
Next door, HSBC and Northrop Grumman share a former 209,000-square-foot Motorola building at 1421 W. Shure Drive. HSBC moved there in 2016 and Northrop Grumman in 2018.