Purchase completed, things moving fast at logistics site on former Allstate campus
Formalizing a process 11 months in the making, Dermody Properties on Oct. 19 announced it had purchased the Allstate campus in Glenview.
Dermody Properties will create, in phases, a proposed 10-building Logistics Campus covering 3.2 million square feet over 232 acres along Sanders Road, south of Willow Road. It is adjacent to the I-294 Tri-State Tollway on the east.
As announced Nov. 29, 2021, the purchase price was approximately $232 million.
"We thank Dermody for their willingness to listen to and work with residents and neighbors throughout the planning stage of this development," Glenview Village President Mike Jenny said.
"After The Glen, this logistics campus will be the most significant development ever to come to Glenview, generating millions in new taxes for our schools, parks and vital village services. We are excited to welcome Dermody to Glenview and look forward to many years of partnership."
Based out of Reno, Nevada, with a regional office in Rosemont, Dermody is a national firm focused on managing, developing and investing in logistics real estate.
"This redevelopment project stands at the intersection of two significant and durable trends - work from home and e-commerce," Dermody Properties President Douglas A. Kiersey Jr. stated in a news release.
At the time of the November 2021 announcement, Kiersey said he was a longtime Chicago resident who had driven past the Allstate campus "10,000 times, at least," he said.
"The conversion of the office campus - with buildings dating back to the 1960s and '70s - into modern logistics buildings offers many benefits to the community. The Logistics Campus will create a significant number of competitive, high-paying construction and long-term jobs in the highly sustainable contemporary logistics industry. Additionally, it lays the groundwork for world-class companies to be part of this region," Kiersey said in the release.
A groundbreaking will be held Oct. 27 at 3075 Sanders Road. Dermody will immediately start construction on five buildings in Phase 1 totaling 1.2 million square feet, scheduled for completion in the second and third quarters of 2023, the release stated.
The area encompassing Phase 1 also includes the existing Gertrude B. Nielsen Child Care and Learning Center, 3835 Willow Road.
The remaining 125 acres will be available for multiple "build-to-suit" buildings or a single building of up to 2 million square feet, the release said.
"The Logistics Campus features state-of-the-art specifications and is situated in an unparalleled Chicago location, with a wide array of amenities and with immediate access to I-294," said Neal Driscoll, Dermody Midwest Region partner.
"This is the best performing submarket in Chicago in terms of vacancy rate, which is currently the lowest in the entire metro market. Its access to transportation, labor and amenities is unmatched," Driscoll noted in the Oct. 19 news release.
The initial announcement, first reported by Crain's Chicago Business, spurred a variety of machinations, including agreements by Allstate and Dermody to annex property to Glenview, an amendment to the Milwaukee-Sanders Corridor Agreement and a revenue-sharing agreement with Prospect Heights - which Glenview in April claimed wanted to annex the campus - and a Cook County Class 6b Real Estate Incentive.
Estimates showed that under the incentive, from 2023-40 the Village of Glenview would gain $19.16 million in new property tax revenues, though there also would be $13.72 million in municipal costs to serve the site and its employees.
However, the estimates also showed that local taxing bodies will receive about $134.5 million in property taxes.
"The benefits this development will provide to the community cannot be overstated," Jenny noted in his September newsletter.
Between February and August, Office Furniture Center executed a decommission project of 42 floors spanning 12 buildings and 1.8 million square feet of the former Allstate campus, much of the contents reused or recycled. Among the haul from 10,000 decommissioned work stations was 20,000 chairs.
Office Furniture Center collected 750,000 pounds of trash, 50,000 pounds of products donated to nonprofits, 2 million pounds of metal recycling and 6 million pounds of products, either sold off the site or brought back to the furniture center, clearing the way for demolition.
"The Logistics Campus perfectly fits our mission of creating satisfied customers through innovative real estate solutions. We especially thank Allstate and the Village of Glenview for their vision that allowed this project to come to life," Michael C. Dermody, Dermody Properties' chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said.