Dermody Properties Signs Headquarters Tenant in Chicago Suburb

Dermody Properties secured a major tenant for its massive Logistics Campus in Glenview.

The Reno-based developer signed dental equipment manufacturer HuFriedyGroup for 326,000 square feet at 3075 Sanders Road, Crain’s reported. Building 3 of the campus will serve as the tenant’s corporate headquarters, and it will move from its location at 3232 North Rockwell Street in Chicago.

HuFriedyGroup’s lease follows an earlier agreement with California-based Upside Foods, which planned to build a 187,000-square-foot cultivated-meat facility on the property. The food technology company later postponed the project, choosing to focus on its California operations instead.

HuFriedyGroup was acquired by an affiliate of Austin-based Peak Rock Capital in June and employs approximately 1,500 people across 20 locations.

Dermody launched The Logistics Campus in 2022 after acquiring the 1.9 million-square-foot former Allstate headquarters for $232 million. That’s about $122 per square foot.

The campus has since expanded to 3.2 million square feet.

Dermody’s redevelopment aimed at supporting e-commerce and distribution operations on the 232-acre site. The first phase of the speculative development was completed in October.

Nearly 700,000 square feet is for lease.

The recent lease could provide a boost for the property, which has struggled to attract tenants. Despite a 25.8 percent decline in leasing activity over the past year, Chicago is an attractive market for industrial projects.

Developers delivered 3.7 million square feet of built-to-suit space in the fourth quarter, marking a 14 percent increase from the same period in 2023, according to Cushman and Wakefield. The year ended with 5 million square feet under construction, with 4.1 million anticipated to be completed this summer.

— Andrew Terrell