Beauty industry magnate John Paul DeJoria bought the 80-acre former home of McDonald’s in Oak Brook, opening a new chapter for the vacated suburban campus.
The sprawling site includes the restaurant chain’s 332,000-square-foot former office building, the 130,000-square-foot Hamburger University training facility and the 218-key Hyatt Lodge Hotel, according to a Wednesday announcement from JLL, which brokered the sale. The brokerage declined to report the price of the transaction.
It remains unclear what DeJoria, the billionaire co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products, plans to do with the land. But any future development will be “led by a dedicated team” based in Austin, Texas, according to JLL.
DeJoria wrote in a statement he looks “forward to welcoming the next generation of special guests and corporations to the property,” adding the space has “a bright future ahead.”
The wooded campus, which includes two small lakes, was designed for McDonald’s in 1988 by architect Dirk Lohan, according to the release.
A year after the burger chain moved its headquarters to Fulton Market, different pieces of the massive suburban campus are already speeding toward redevelopment. Houston-based Hines Interests is preparing a $500 million mixed-use development on an 18-acre slice of the property, and village officials are exploring turning a 34-acre open space into soccer fields.
JLL’s Scott Miller and Lindsey Fahey represented McDonald’s in the sale. Perry Higa of NAI Hiffman represented DeJoria.