After years of trying to sell its sprawling headquarters campus in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, Sears’ parent company took a new approach to cash in on a $194 million sale.
Colliers International brokers studied the site in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, then marketed it by focusing on one key attribute: access to large amounts of ComEd power.
That meant Sears parent company Transformco’s best path to a sale — particularly in an area surrounded by the highest office vacancy in Chicago’s suburbs — would be to a developer of data centers.
Within six months, a data center firm was under contract to pay $151 million for 194 acres of the longtime Sears office campus at 3333 Beverly Road, according to Colliers. When that buyer failed to close on the deal, Colliers took the property back to the market and eventually landed a higher-priced deal with Dallas-based Compass Datacenters.
The deal was selected by a panel of local industry professionals as the winner of a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for sale of the year in Chicago.
About the Deal: It is the highest-priced land sale ever in the northwest suburban market, according to Colliers. Compass is expected to begin demolishing 2.4 million square feet of offices on the site later this year to make way for new data storage facilities.
What the Judges Said: “Situated within a market characterized by minimal sale velocity and high vacancy, this property presented a notable challenge,” said Eric Turrin of North Park Ventures. “However, the brokers adeptly generated demand for the asset, ultimately securing a favorable price. This transaction not only exemplifies a pinnacle sales figure within the market but also underscores the unwavering determination exhibited by both the owner and the brokers involved.”
They Made It Happen: The seller was represented by Colliers International brokers Dougal Jeppe, Suzanne Serino, Bill Fausone, Jason Simon and Anne Dempsey.
CoStar Market Manager Kristen Davis contributed.