885,000-SF Sears Campus to Be Sold

CHICAGO-The original 885,000-sf headquarters for retail giant Sears, Roebuck & Co. on the West Side will be sold June 27 under orders from the US Bankruptcy Court. The property is located within the Homan Square redevelopment, which has seen more than $100 million of reinvestment, in the North Lawndale neighborhood.

Offered for sale by Chicago-based MJ Partners Real Estate Services, appointed by the court to sell the property, are:

* A five-story, 290,000-sf administration building at 3333 W. Arthington St. that once housed the Sears executive offices.

* The six-story, 250,000-sf building at 3301 W. Arthington St. Like the adjoining 3333 W. Arthington St., it is partially leased.

* The 10-story, 310,000-sf building at 3245 W. Arthington St., which was the former headquarters of Sears subsidiary Allstate Insurance Co. The building is vacant.

* The original Sears Tower–a 14-story, 35,000-sf building at the west end of the office campus that once was the tallest building between Chicago and San Francisco. The building is vacant.

* A 1,082-car parking garage located at the northeast corner of the office/industrial campus.

Redevelopment in Homan Square has included a $75-million, 328-unit townhome development; a $25-million YMCA and community center, the Lawndale Plaza Shopping Center and a Chicago Park District facility. Redevelopment has taken place over 10 years, spearheaded by the Shaw Cos. The property is eligible for tax increment financing and is located within enterprise and empowerment zones.

MJ Partners principal Jeff Jacobson notes the Homan Square campus, five miles west of the Loop, once employed 16,000. “Homan Square presents an opportunity for an investor or user to take advantage of the almost one million sf of office, light industrial and potential residential space in the center of Chicago’s resurging West Side,” Jacobson says.