Groundbreaking held in Glenview for Logistics Campus, a 10-building development on former Allstate site

Developers and elected officials broke ground on Oct. 27 on Glenview’s latest megadevelopment, The Logistics Campus, developed by Dermody Properties of Reno, Nevada which has local offices in Rosemont.

The groundbreaking was followed by a launch party to kick off the construction of 10 buildings on the site, which had been occupied for decades by the Allstate Insurance campus. The Logistics Campus will provide more than 3.2 million square feet of business space, company officials said.

“The story is just starting,” said Dermody Properties President Douglas A. Kiersey of Winnetka.

“We feel a great sense of duty to carry on the legacy of Allstate to honor tens of thousands of folks who worked here for years or perhaps decades,” Kiersey said.

“And now we’re repurposing the site.”

Community leaders and elected officials turned out for the groundbreaking.

“I believe that Dermody will be a good neighbor and we’ll see some good results out of this campus,” Glenview Village President Michael Jenny said.

Glenview village trustees unanimously approved an Allstate land development and tax incentive package at the July 19 board meeting. The former Allstate headquarters was annexed into Glenview under an agreement with Prospect Heights.

Dermody announced Oct. 19 the official purchase acquisition of the 232-acre parcel, paying $1 million per acre.

The Logistics Campus is a planned logistics park. Dermody has started construction of five buildings totaling 1.2 million square feet, scheduled for completion in the second and third quarters of 2023. The remaining acreage has flexibility for build-to-suit applicants.

Kiersey said that Amazon, as a distribution center, is still not on the table as a potential occupant. Residents living near the site were concerned about the possibility of a 24-hour trucking warehouse type of center.

“That status has not changed,” Kiersey said about Amazon.

According to the Village of Glenview, the Dermody development tax return would be (from 2023 to 2040) $134.5 million shared by recipients such as Glenbrook High School District 225 ($41 million-plus) and West Northfield School District 31 (which serves Glenview) at nearly $53 million in new tax revenue.

Kiersey confirmed that Dermody intends to sell loosely four acres to the adjacent Gertrude B. Nielsen Child Care and Learning Center of Glenview.

The Gertrude B. Nielsen Child Care and Learning Center submitted an offer to Dermody last July 19 to purchase the acres of land east of the learning center along Willow Road and next to the center’s playground.

Originally, the 3.89 acres were considered for a gas fueling spot by Dermody but became residential zoning.

Once the sale is closed, the learning center, which has a nearly 35-year history, would consider uses such as outdoor classroom space and a teaching garden, as examples.

While the learning center contract amount has never been revealed by either party, Kiersey indicated the public domain value for the Allstate land is $1 million per acre.

“That’s our intent, we’re trading documents, we haven’t quite got everything tied up, but that’s their expectation and our expectation,” Kiersey said, of honoring the land sale to the child care center.

As part of the deal with Prospect Heights, Lake Michigan water will be sold from Glenview to Prospect Heights.

Glenview gets its water from Wilmette and Glenview officials have confirmed that Wilmette officials are aware of the potential wholesale water resale intention.

“It was good foresight by prior administrations and village staff to provide the infrastructure to the water main hookup to this property,” Jenny said on Thursday.

Dermody Properties Midwest Partner Neal Driscoll of Wilmette said about the water, “It’s pretty tremendous.

“It’s one of the biggest benefits of this whole relationship to the communities is their ability to work out that water agreement,” Driscoll said.

During the program, a $10,000 donation was presented from Dermody to the Northfield Township Pantry based in Glenview.

“It’s a show of good faith,” said Northfield Township Supervisor Shiva Mohsenzadeh of Glenview.

The pantry was recommended as a donor recipient by Village of Glenview trustees, said Dermody Properties Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Dermody of Reno, Nevada.