Urban-style office complex planned in Westmont
A national developer purchased the former headquarters of Allied Van Lines' parent company, an 18-acre complex in Westmont, and plans to spend between $35 and $50 million to turn it into an urban-style office complex.
Minneapolis-based Ryan Companies said it completed the acquisition of 700 Oakmont Lane, immediately south of Oak Brook, and plans to raze portions of the 275,00-square-foot, three-story office building to create a single corporate headquarters or develop a multi-building office complex that could accommodate three or four corporate users.
"The real advantage and marketability of this opportunity is the inherent flexibility it offers," said James McDonald, vice president of development for Ryan Companies. Working in the Naperville office, he stressed that there is great opportunity to develop modern, urban-style office campuses in the suburbs.
The project, being marketed as Oakmont Point, is expected to attract tenants with amenities that include a 4-acre pond, indoor parking for 200 vehicles and abundant outdoor parking, said McDonald, of St. Charles.
To kick off marketing efforts, Ryan Companies has launched a website, OakmontPoint.com, that features development details, architectural renderings and a video animation to showcase its vision for the redevelopment.
Ryan bought the aging property from New York-based Lexington Realty Trust for $5 million. Allied's parent company, Sirva Inc., was the most recent tenant of the building, which was built in the 1970s for a printing press company.
CBRE leasing broker Bill Elwood is representing Ryan.
According to CBRE's year-end office market report, the overall vacancy in the East-West Corridor is 17 percent. Tenants looking for contiguous blocks of space of 50,000 square feet or more have only two legitimate options in the desirable eastern portion of the market.
That portion of the market includes Westmont, Westchester, Oak Brook and Oakbrook Terrace, he said.
"We really feel strongly about the East-West Corridor," McDonald added. "We are delivering an office product that has an urban tone," he said.