R2 Trying Again for Buyer of Vacant Glenview Office Campus

Chicago-based developer R2 Cos. is once again trying to sell the former Scott Foresman office campus in suburban Glenview after officials rejected another developer’s proposal to turn the site into rental housing.

R2 has hired CBRE brokers Tom Svoboda, Marcello Campanini and Tony Gange to market the 19.4-acre property at 1900 East Lake Avenue in the northern suburb, Crain’s reported.

Fellow Chicago-based developer Core Spaces seemed poised to take control of the campus with plans to transform it into 140 single-family rental homes, but the proposal was recently shot down by the Glenview New Development Commission, which deemed that it was too dense for the property.

R2 is playing up the listing as a redevelopment opportunity, whether that be a less-dense residential project, life sciences facility or self-storage, among other possibilities. If a developer were to go the residential route, a community of 60 to 70 homes would be best suited for the site, the asset’s marketing materials said.

The offering will test investor demand in suburban office properties poised for redevelopment, especially against a backdrop of rising interest rates and a tight lending environment making it difficult to finance large-scale projects. To add to its appeal, CBRE is emphasizing that tax incentives tied to reuse of historic buildings could be on the table for a buyer interested in maintaining the existing four buildings on site.

R2, in a joint venture with Wheaton-based T2 Capital Management, acquired the $16.7 million mortgage on the property last year through foreclosure proceedings, ousting the previous owner, an affiliate of Inland Group.

While Core Spaces planned to offer single-family homes for rent, local homeowners opposed any rental housing due to concerns about more school-aged children impacting Glenview public schools and property taxes.

R2 CEO Matt Garrison is contemplating a “lower density single-family home project” but has listed the property to explore other potential uses, including medical, educational or industrial concepts, among others.

— Quinn Donoghue