Part of Rolling Meadows' skyline to go: Gallagher to tear down office tower next to its HQ
A towering presence along the tollway in Rolling Meadows since the 1970s, one half of what had been called the Meadows Corporate Center is being torn down by its new owner and neighbor to the west, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
The 10-story, 270,000-square-foot east tower at 2550 Golf Road was purchased by the commercial insurance brokerage for $13 million a year ago, out of the desire to have a say over redevelopment around its global headquarters, according to City Manager Rob Sabo, who recently met with the company's top brass.
Gallagher spent more than $100 million to renovate the 11-story, 315,000-square-foot building it moved to in 2017 at 2850 Golf Road.
A developer floated a proposal for a warehouse on the east tower site, but that fell through and led to Gallagher's purchase from Chicago-based Marc Realty.
“Gallagher did want to control the property in order to be able to align it with their visions and desires for their headquarters campus rather than seeing it become heavily truck-oriented and warehousing uses,” Sabo said.
After considering whether to house offices there or knock it down, Gallagher recently applied for a demolition permit, Sabo confirmed. But company officials haven't shared what their plans are for the property, which will become a grass lot for now.
A Gallagher spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
“It's not unique to us, but I think a number of these suburban office buildings are meeting their end of useful life, and the market is somewhat repositioning this real estate based on current demand and desires and needs,” Sabo said.
The city council Tuesday night approved an agreement with St. Charles-based WBK Engineering for plan review and inspections related to the upcoming demolition. That's because Gallagher's own engineering plans for the demolition were prepared by Rosemont-based SPACECO, an affiliate of Christopher B. Burke Engineering, which commonly serves as city engineer for Rolling Meadows.
The building, constructed in 1979, underwent a number of interior renovations in recent years, including a new lobby, cafe, conference center and fitness center. It was being marketed for lease before Gallagher's purchase, but as of today, it is completely vacant.
The decision to demolish is opposite of where the company's space needs were pre-pandemic. In the hopes of securing tax incentives in 2018, Gallagher pitched a plan to city and state officials for a new four-story office building on its campus. The estimated $45.6 million development would have included conference areas, “huddle” rooms, phone rooms and workstations. The project would have created 700 jobs but never came to fruition.
City officials say this teardown is expected to occur sooner than another planned large-scale demolition in the same corporate campus. Brennan Investment Group, which acquired the three-story, 485,000-square-foot Atrium Corporate Center at 3800 Golf Road in April, announced plans for some 600,000 square feet of manufacturing, distribution and data center space across two new buildings.