Franklin Begins Razing of Naperville Office Complex

An office demolition is underway at a 41-acre site in Naperville, clearing the way for Franklin Partners’ redevelopment plans after an industrial proposal was turned down by the suburb.

The Oak Brook-based firm is razing the 500,000-square-foot former Alcatel-Lucent campus and two parking garages at 1960 Lucent Lane, several months after buying the property for $4.8 million, the Daily Herald reported.

Franklin originally wanted to convert the five-story complex into an industrial facility, but Naperville officials opposed the idea. Thus, the firm said it would pursue a technology-based alternative use. No additional details have been made available, as Franklin hasn’t yet submitted development plans with the city.

Even though the industrial sector has been booming in Chicagoland, such developments — especially in revamps of struggling, outdated office properties along commercial corridors — have stirred up controversy in some suburbs due to the traffic, noise and pollution they could cause. In Deerfield, for instance, Bridge Industrial’s proposal to redevelop a 10-building office campus into a 101-acre logistics park has received fervid pushback from local residents.

Newly elected Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli has also opposed warehouse projects in the city, despite his goal to spur new development along the I-88 corridor, which includes Lucent Lane. The city recently amended zoning regulations in office, research and light industrial districts to deter warehouse projects in the area, the outlet reported.

“Throughout the last year, I’ve heard many concerns from residents and neighbors about the negative impact certain uses may have on the city’s office corridors, surrounding properties and the overall community,” Wehrli said at a recent city council meeting.

Franklin, led by managing partners Donald Shoemaker, Raymond Warner and Gary Tamminga, is also building a five-building complex around a FedEx distribution center in Grayslake, about an hour north of Chicago, according to the firm’s website.

In Naperville, Franklin previously turned around the Shuman, a 354,000-square-foot suburban Chicago building formerly occupied by OfficeMax that the development firm took from completely empty when they took it over to 91 percent leased before its $73 million sale last year to New York-based investors Katherine Cartagena and Opal Holdings bought last year for $73 million.

— Quinn Donoghue