CLOOS North America held a grand opening earlier this month for its new headquarters in Schaumburg. The $15 million investment is emblematic of what Schaumburg hopes to stimulate through a strategic economic development plan that includes public improvements to the aging Centex industrial park near the southwest corner of the village.
Thanks to CLOOS Robotics
The suburbs’ largest economic hub is implementing a new strategic economic development plan for the next three years, designed to further build the city’s position in a post-pandemic world that has seen some of its traditional strengths eroded.
Schaumburg is home to a diverse mix of economic sectors, including offices, industry, hospitality, retail and public transportation. The strategic plan, developed over the past year with the help of the Hamman Consulting Group, aims to respond to the changing demands of each of these sectors.
Without a doubt, the office market is the one hardest hit by the pandemic and most in need of a new approach, said Schaumburg Economic Development Director Matt Frank.
Schaumburg Director of Economic Development Matt Frank
Courtesy of the Village of Schaumburg
The plan identifies sectors that are eligible to recruit staff for Schaumburg’s sought-after stock of high-quality Class A office space. It also establishes parameters for determining which Class B and C office buildings are eligible for repurposing.
“The cluster analysis gives us our primary targets in the information, finance, insurance and real estate, professional scientific and technical services, and management of businesses sectors,” Frank said. “Some of the key action items the village will focus on to reduce office vacancy include identifying some potential businesses in the sectors with expiring leases, joint marketing to attract more business, and evaluating older office buildings for alternative uses or redevelopment.”
Zurich North America’s headquarters in Schaumburg is an example of the luxury Class A office space the village is eager to fill with tenants.
Daily Herald file photo, 2016
According to Frank, the recent lease by Wheels, Inc. of Des Plaines of half the available space in Zurich North America’s iconic 783,800-square-foot headquarters in Schaumburg, an early example of achieving the strategic plan’s objectives.
Wheels, Inc. is a fleet management and mobility solutions company. Two other large office users are also on the verge of signing large leases in the village, Frank said.
Windy Point at 1600 McConnor Parkway has launched a HuddleUp program to encourage outside businesses to use its Class A conference and coworking office facilities.
Thanks to BOMA, 2018
Windy Point’s Class A office campus at 1600 McConnor Parkway is also demonstrating an innovative approach with its HuddleUp program, inviting outside companies to meet, collaborate and collaborate there, Frank added.
The industrial sector has continued to thrive in recent years, but following the recent approval of a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district to finance the modernization of the village’s vast but aging Centex industrial park, this is one way to ensure that Schaumburg is one of the destinations for the best companies, according to Frank.
The new $15 million CLOOS North America facility opened this spring at 500 Commerce Drive in Schaumburg.
Thanks to CLOOS Robotics
“CLOOS Robotics is a great example of a company in Centex quadrupling its space and moving to the new 500 Commerce facility,” said Frank.
Two weeks ago, a grand opening was held for that state-of-the-art facility. Company officials said the more than $15 million investment will help the German company expand its presence in North America as demand for pre-designed and customized robotic welding solutions increases.
CLOOS found staying near his old former home in another part of the industrial park beneficial because of its proximity to the sheet metal industry and O’Hare International Airport.
The new, expanded CLOOS North America headquarters in Schaumburg represents what village officials would like to see planned public improvements encouraged among other current and future tenants of the Centex industrial park.
Thanks to CLOOS Robotics
“Our expanded headquarters reinforces our commitment to delivering advanced welding automation solutions to North America,” said Doug Zoller, President of CLOOS North America, in a statement. “The new facility allows us to offer customers greater security of supply and shorter delivery times.”
The new strategic plan does not neglect the most valued economic sectors of the village.
Growing 55-year-old European clothing retailer Primark has revitalized the top floor of the former Sears at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. The village’s strategic economic development plan calls for filling other vacant anchor spots in shopping centers through active recruitment.
Eric Peterson/[email protected]
“We also want to ensure that Schaumburg remains the destination for shopping and catering,” says Frank. “Some of the key action items identified in the strategic plan include support for Streets of Woodfield and Woodfield Mall and seeking to fill the old Sears, Lord & Taylor and Carson spaces with exciting users. We are also focused on expanding transit options to get people to the 90 North Schaumburg district.”
The recent opening of European retailer Primark on the top floor of the former Sears space in Woodfield has boosted the opportunity for larger tenants – both retail and entertainment venues – to drive footfall, Frank said.
A rendering of one of the five buildings on the Crossroads of Schaumburg restaurant campus being developed for the northwest corner of Golf Road and Meacham Road in Schaumburg.
Courtesy of the Village of Schaumburg
The upcoming construction of the Crossroads of Schaumburg development on the northwest corner of Golf and Meacham Roads also shows that the village has not yet reached the limit of restaurant demand. Planned tenants of the five-building campus include Lazy Dog, Picocolo Buco, Cava, DAve’s hot chicken, Velf Taco, crisp & green, Panda Express and Nonsense.
Intersection development site on the northwest corner of Meacham and Golf roads in Schaumburg.
Paul Valade/[email protected]
Plans are also moving forward for The District at Veridian, a mixed-use development of apartments, shops and restaurants on the eastern edge of the former Motorola Solutions campus next to Zurich North America and across Meacham Road from the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel.
An impression of The District at Veridian, a planned mixed-use development of more than 90,000 square feet of retail, restaurant, residential and office space on 30 acres along Meacham Road in Schaumburg.
Thanks to Schaumburg
The first shovel is expected to break ground this summer and the price will be $31.2 million, a 900-space parking deck on the west side of the Renaissance and the adjacent Andretti Indoor Karting & Games, which will anchor the first phase of a new entertainment district.
Frank said the success of the village’s pandemic recovery plan in recent years is encouraging for the viability of the new strategic plan.
A rendering shows the design of the upcoming Andretti Indoor Karting & Games next to a six-story parking deck on the west side of the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel & Convention Center, with the speculative design of two future restaurants just north of it on Thoreau Drive.
Courtesy of the Village of Schaumburg
“I think Matt is doing a great job,” Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly said. “He knows this industry so well, what is coming and what is staying.”
