As work-from-home and rising e-commerce demand trends converged, insurer Allstate struck a $232 million deal to sell its longtime headquarters campus in Chicago’s northern suburbs to industrial developer Dermody Properties.
The sale of the 232-acre campus at 2775 Sanders Road is a high-profile example of an office-to-industrial conversion, winning the deal a CoStar Impact Award as judged by real estate professionals familiar with the market.
Reno, Nevada-based Dermody has begun demolishing 1960s-era office buildings on the site, which it plans to replace with 10 warehouses totaling more than 3.2 million square feet of last-mile distribution space.
The Logistics Campus, as the project is called, is a major departure from the campus’ 12,000-plus office workers at its peak.
About the deal: The buyer and seller first began talks about a potential sale in April 2021, but the deal wasn’t completed until October 2022. Although the campus previously had a Northbrook, Illinois, address, most of it was in unincorporated Cook County. Neighboring suburbs Glenview and Prospect Heights reached an agreement to annex the project into Glenview, which oversaw the zoning process. The villages will share tax revenues generated by the future distribution hub.
What the judges said: “Dermody is providing a road map for repurposing outdated suburban office campuses into higher and better uses,” wrote Michael Morrone, vice president and director of research at Stream Realty Partners.
They made it happen: Neal Driscoll, Doug Kiersey and Lou Berchicci led Dermody Properties in the acquisition. The sale was led by Allstate executives Mark Angerame, Michael Thomas, Michael Moran, Michael Durst and Lindi Vernick. Allstate was represented in the sale by Colliers International brokers Suzanne Serino and William Fausone. DLA Piper lawyer Rich Klawiter co-represented Dermody and Allstate to facilitate annexation and zoning approvals.
