Bridge Industrial to redevelop former Baxter HQ in Deerfield

A Chicago-based industrial developer is set to transform the Baxter International headquarters campus in Deerfield in another loss of suburban office space in favor of logistics assets.

Bridge Industrial is closing in on a deal to buy the 101-acre property at 1 Baxter Parkway in the northern Chicago suburb, Crain’s reported. The exact terms of the deal haven’t been released yet, but people familiar with the deal told the outlet Bridge will likely pay between $90 million and $100 million for the 646,000-square-foot, 10-building campus.

Baxter hired JLL to market its campus back in May.

The deal follows the recent trend of office properties being redeveloped for different uses in response to many companies downsizing commercial real estate footprints and the surge in demand for logistics properties.

Last fall, Dermody Properties paid $232 million for the former Allstate corporate campus in Northbrook. The Reno, Nevada-based company is redeveloping the property into a 3.2 million-square-foot 10-building logistics park.

Industrial development has also been booming in the Chicago area aside from the conversion of decades-old office spreads. During the third quarter of 2022 some 37.5 million square feet of warehouse space was under construction in and around the Windy City, beating out the previous record of 30.1 million square feet in the second quarter of 2021, according to a Colliers report.

Eric Tatro with Baxter told the outlet in an email that the firm “identified a prospective buyer and will work with them on due diligence activities while we conduct a search for a new headquarters. Baxter is advancing through the process of identifying and selecting a property that will enable us to stay in the general area.”

Bridge Industrial has developed multiple warehouse properties in the Chicago area over the past few years, including in Itasca, Downers Grove, Franklin Park and Mundelein. The firm’s website says it has developed more than 21.5 million square feet of industrial properties in Chicagoland.