Suburban Glenview is taking a bold step into real estate, agreeing to spend more than $23 million to buy the vacant 56-acre former Signode industrial campus and shape its redevelopment around community needs.
The village’s board of trustees voted to acquire the property at 3600–3700 West Lake Avenue from Signode, which left in 2022 after moving its headquarters to Florida and operations to Roselle. Village officials described the deal as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine one of Glenview’s largest redevelopment sites, Crain’s reported.
Plans for the land are still in the early stages, but envision a mix of park space, sports fields, open space and community-oriented retail or recreational amenities. The village expects to close on the purchase in February, paying with cash reserves drawn from various municipal funds.
The move marks a sharp turn from prior redevelopment attempts.
In 2020, Glenview blocked Dermody Properties’ $24 million proposal for a three-building warehouse complex amid opposition to adding heavy truck traffic near residential neighborhoods.
A subsequent concept calling for 138 homes also failed to gain traction. Jeff Brady, Glenview’s community development director, said those concepts didn’t fit the village’s “best long-term interest.”
By buying the land outright, the village gains control of the site’s destiny amid a suburban real estate market struggling to repurpose vacant corporate campuses.
Dozens of similar sites across the region have gone industrial since the pandemic, as office demand cratered and warehouse absorption surged. Glenview, however, appears determined to favor open-space and civic uses over logistics or large-scale residential density.
Not everyone is on board.
Several residents questioned the wisdom of committing millions in taxpayer funds without a public referendum or detailed plan, with one resident asking why and when did the village get into the real estate speculation business.
The planning process is expected to begin in spring, with first-phase construction targeted for summer 2027.
Trustee Adam Sidoti called it “the largest investment in this community since The Glen,” a reference to the transformative redevelopment of the former Naval Air Station that remade central Glenview two decades ago.
— Eric Weilbacher
Read more
Commercial
Chicago
Pepsi orders massive warehouse at Dermody’s Glenview development
Development
Chicago
Glenview greenlights Jacobs Cos subdivision amid low inventory
Commercial
Chicago
Dermody faces hurdle with Allstate redevelopment in Glenview
Commercial
Chicago
Dermody scraps office-to-industrial conversion plans in Glenview