mobanmarketDEERFIELD, IL — With the Deerfield Plan Commission set to meet Thursday night to discuss the future of the Baxter International campus, a Chicago-based historic preservation organization named the site to its 2023 “Most Endangered Historic Places In Illinois” list.
Landmarks Illinois calls the campus an “important work of Midcentury Modern design” and points out several architectural awards it won during the 1970s and 1980s. The campus, located at 1 Baxter Parkway, was built in 1972 by the renowned architectural team of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Baxter International is nearing the sale of the 101-acre campus to Bridge Industrial. The Chicago-based developer is proposing to annex the property to Deerfield and rezone the site for industrial and recreational use. Their intent is to then demolish all existing structures and redevelop the property as a state-of-the-art business park.
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“Unfortunately, the campus has no landmark protection of any kind to prevent or discourage demolition,” Landmarks Illinois says on its website. “Baxter International joins other suburban office campuses of the mid-20th century that are threatened by a decline in demand for office space.”
A public hearing about the property is scheduled for Thursday night at Deerfield High School. The meeting was postponed two weeks ago due to an overflowing crowd and relocated. The crowd included a number of protestors and citizens concerned about the future of the site. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the high school’s gym at 1959 Waukegan Road. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Attendees are asked to only enter through the gym entrance for the in-person meeting.
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Landmarks Illinois suggests a way to preserve the site would be to “reuse a unique and high-quality architectural resource” rather than demolish the existing campus. The organization points out several other preservation projects it deems successful, including the transforming of Ameritech Center in Hoffman Estates “into a self-contained urban hub termed a ‘Metroburb.'”
As reported by Patch on April 21, a petition opposing Bridge’s plans was started at Change.org. The key issue with this proposal is the potential of “an estimated 600 semi-trucks per day congesting the streets of Saunders, Lake Cook and Deerfield roads.” The petition has now reached nearly 4,500 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
While details regarding the purchase price of the Baxter property have not been released publically, Crain’s Chicago Business reported in January that the deal for the 645,688-square-foot-headquarters would be in the neighborhood of $90 and $100 million. According to the agenda of the Plan Commission meeting, the current purchase price is $51.5 million.
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