Somerset Development is sticking to its plans to redevelop the former AT&T campus in Hoffman Estates into a sprawling “metroburb,” even as the village’s largest employer, Sears, enters bankruptcy.
New Jersey-based Somerset plans the redevelopment of the 150-acre former AT&T complex, five miles east of Sears’ 2.4-million-square-foot headquarters, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Sears filed for Chapter 11 protection Monday, saying it plans to close another 162 stores by year’s end and throwing the future of its headquarters — and workforce — into question.
Somerset wants to convert the AT&T property into 1.2 million square feet of offices, 60,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, and 80,000 square feet of conference space. The developer also has approval for construction of 379 apartments, 171 townhomes and a hotel.
Somerset President Ralph Zucker told the Tribune the firm is “not deterred” by Sears’ woes, and believes it can have the same success in Hoffman Estates as it did at the former Bell Labs campus in New Jersey.
Conversion of the existing AT&T buildings is expected to cost about $160 million, said Zucker, who declined to say how soon the firm expects to close on the land deal or how much it’s paying for the site. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien