Bridge Industrial Drops Bid for Baxter’s Deerfield HQ

In the face of stiff resistance from neighboring residents and local officials, Steve Poulos’ firm Bridge Industrial is killing its proposal to turn the sprawling 101-acre Baxter International office headquarters in Deerfield into a logistics park.

Baxter, a medical and hospital equipment maker, has decided to keep and invest in its suburban Chicago corporate campus as Bridge abandoned its plan to redevelop the property’s 10 office buildings into multiple warehouses, CoStar News reported, citing a letter from Baxter CEO Jose Almeida to employees.

The decision marks the end of a contentious monthslong effort by Bridge to purchase and redevelop the massive site, and marks an early instance of resident opposition contributing to the downfall of an effort to reposition an outdated suburban office campus — a sector struggling mightily in Chicagoland — as today’s more desired industrial real estate asset class.

More of these fights could be looming as developers such as Brennan Investment Group and others aim to transform financially distressed properties, including a Rolling Meadows office campus Brennan has its eye on, into warehouses.

“We have elected to take the Deerfield property off the market and remain in our existing location,” Almeida’s letter said. This move signifies a change in direction for Baxter, which had initially sought to reduce its office footprint due to the increasing trend of remote work among its employees.

Bridge had placed the property under contract for a reported price between $90 million and $100 million and proposed replacing it with 1.1 million square feet of warehouses. When Bridge met resistance from area residents and Deerfield Mayor Daniel Shapiro, the firm explored the possibility of a smaller-scale project without annexing into the town and instead moving its proposal through Lake County officials. It is now ditching the idea altogether, though.

In his letter, Almeida expressed the company’s commitment to enhancing the Deerfield campus and exploring ways to use its real estate more efficiently across Illinois. He emphasized the significance of the campus to Baxter’s heritage and its role in fostering collaboration and innovation.

The Baxter property’s location was of concern to residents in the nearby Thorngate subdivision, who strongly opposed the development plan. The company’s decision to remain in its existing location is expected to alleviate these concerns.

Bridge’s development portfolio includes large warehouse properties in various suburbs, including Itasca, Downers Grove, Franklin Park and Mundelein.