Redevelopment plans for the former CVS Health headquarters and vacant land belonging to Northwestern Memorial Hospital near I-294 in Glenview received a mixed response from a village panel charged with considering the proposal.
Developer Scott Gibbel is looking to construct three buildings for “light industrial” uses on 29 acres of land at 2211-2305 Sanders Road in Glenview. The land contains the shuttered CVS Health Towers campus and undeveloped property where outpatient medical offices and ambulatory care had been proposed but never constructed, the village said.
The western portion of the site hosts a 5-story office building, 10-story office building, parking deck and surface parking areas, according to the village. CVS, which housed its CVS Health business center corporate offices there, vacated the site between 2021 and 2022, and the buildings have experienced a high level of vacancy since that time.
The properties have Northbrook addresses, but were annexed by the village of Glenview between 2004 and 2019.
Gibbel appeared before the Glenview New Development Commission on Dec. 10 with requests to rezone a portion of the property for light industrial use and build just under 400,000 square feet of industrial space across three buildings in a campus tentatively named O’Hare Park 294.
Special approval would be required for one of the buildings to stand at 46 feet tall, because the maximum height allowed under the village code is 36 feet.
After three hours of presentations, questions and citizen comments, the New Development Commission voted to continue consideration of the development requests to its Jan. 28 meeting.
If the commission recommends approval of the development, it will go to the Glenview Village Board for final action.
Gibbel told the commission that no tenants have yet been identified for the buildings, which sparked objections from some nearby residents who addressed the panel.
“We do not know what will be going in there,” said Peter Zorn, a resident of the adjacent Timberlane Estates in Northbrook. “I think that’s a concern for everyone.”
Residents voiced concerns that the development would end up attracting significant truck traffic on Sanders Road and possibly 24-hour operations.
Under Glenview’s Municipal Code, the zoning classification requested for the site, known as I-2, permits warehouses; manufacturing, packaging, processing and fulfillment facilities; delivery and distribution businesses; and repair services, among other uses.
Gibbel suggested the buildings may attract tenants like trade businesses, contractors, HVAC repair, plumbing, showroom and sales-oriented businesses, and light assembly. He acknowledged the “speculative nature” of the development, noting, “These companies want to see and touch the space before they commit to it.”
None of the buildings are designed for single tenants, he said.
“We are targeting a diverse range of tenants,” Gibbel said. “It is a marketplace for small businesses.”
Some residents also mentioned the site’s close proximity to the former Allstate headquarters in Glenview, which is being redeveloped into a 10-building logistics park by real estate developer Dermody Properties.
Resident Susan Eisenberg said new development on the 2211-2305 Sanders Road site should not be pursued until the logistics park, located one mile south on Sanders Road, is complete and the traffic impact from that is known.
Some members of the New Development Commission echoed concerns of the residents who addressed the panel.
“I’m uncomfortable with the zoning change itself and even the potential uses…which I think could lead to much of this building being a distribution center,” said Commissioner Elias Matsakis.
“I think that would severely impact the neighborhood.”
Commissioner Megan McClung said she couldn’t be sure all necessary zoning standards would be met because there has not been clarity on how the property will be used. She added that the community had not had enough time to review the proposal either.
Commissioner Glen Tracy suggested the buildings were being “squeezed” into the site.
“My initial feeling was, it’s over-developed,” he said. “It’s too big.”
Commissioners Ari Killian and Vincent Wilk said they supported the proposal and would vote to advance it to the Glenview Village Board.
“With appropriate site abatements and noise control, I think it would be a productive use,” Wilk said.
The proposed development must also conform to the Willow Road Corridor Plan, which was adopted in partnership with the Village of Northbrook and sets limitations on permitted uses for properties within the corridor.
“These properties are still under the original corridor agreement, which (called for) office and light industrial (uses),” said Glenview Village Attorney Julie Tappendorf.
The redeveloped 2211-2305 Sanders Road campus would be accessed from an existing signalized intersection on Sanders Road, from Evergreen Road and from a private AT&T property road on the south side, the village said. Truck traffic would be prohibited from driving north of the traffic signal on Sanders road, according to the village.
