Kehoe Designs Bets on Suburban Office Teardown for Venue

A long-vacant office building near the former Allstate headquarters campus could soon give way to wedding receptions and corporate galas.

Kehoe Designs President Tom Kehoe is planning to demolish a 106,167-square-foot office building at 2100 Sanders Road in Glenview and replace it with a two-story, 45,000-square-foot event venue, Crain’s reported. The project would mark a second outpost of the Geraghty, the Pilsen-based venue Kehoe has owned and operated since 2015.

The proposal points to a creative redevelopment option for suburban office corridors littered with obsolete buildings that have struggled to attract tenants in the wake of remote work. Glenview has already leaned into that reality, most notably at the former Allstate campus, which has been remade into a sprawling industrial park after the insurance giant decamped.

Kehoe told the outlet that he’s spent years scouting the North Shore for a site to serve clients who have been pushing him to open closer to home. The 5-acre Sanders Road parcel, which borders the Cook County Forest Preserve, checked the right boxes, including ample green space for a venue with both indoor and outdoor components.

The existing office building, constructed in 1987 and formerly occupied by IMC Global, is owned by a venture tied to local investor Richard Colburn. Kehoe declined to disclose the purchase price, and the seller declined to comment.

Pending village approvals, Kehoe aims to close on the property and begin demolition this spring, with an eye toward opening the new venue — dubbed the Geraghty North — in spring 2027. Plans call for a maximum capacity of 600 guests and a design geared toward social and corporate events, according to a letter sent to neighbors, according to the publication. Kehoe is scheduled to present the project to nearby residents at a meeting hosted by the Glenview Park District, with a formal appearance before the village’s development commission expected later this month.

The site sits across from Caremark Towers, another aging office complex whose owner is pursuing an industrial redevelopment.

The hospitality angle is also notable, as full-service hotels nearby once relied heavily on corporate events tied to Allstate’s campus, but that demand cratered after the pandemic. The Hilton Chicago Northbrook, just over a mile away, defaulted on its mortgage after Allstate announced its exit, while the Crowne Plaza across the street was hit with a foreclosure lawsuit last year.

Kehoe told the outlet that he sees an opening precisely because nearby options are limited, pointing to strong demand for outdoor-friendly venues.— Eric Weilbacher