Word out of the Chicago area is the
Edward Don and Company is about to make a decision on whether to move its headquarters from its current location in Chicago suburb of North Riverside to the southwestern suburb of Woodridge.
Edward Don and Company, the foodservice equipment and supplies distribution giant, has called its corporate headquarters at 2500 Harlem Ave home for over 40 years.
But its lease is due to expire at the end of 2012, and the land owner has the 19-acre property on the market. A pair of large "For Lease" signs went up at the corner of 25th Street and Harlem Avenue around the beginning of April.
Jerald Much, president of
Lincolnwood Developers, which partnered with Monroe Investment Partners in August 2007 to buy the property, said earlier this year that the possibility of a deal with Edward Don
"is not dead. But [are negotiations] active? They're shopping and they have been," said Much. Part of the reason Edward Don is shopping is that for the past 40 years, according to Much, the company has paid rent far below what is considered market value. The property was at one time owned by part of the Don family.
In 2007, that branch of the family, which did not have a stake in the company, put the property up for sale. While
Edward Don and Company bid for the property, it was outbid by Much's partnership, which bought the property for $14.75 million.
According to information found on LoopNet.com, a commercial real estate services website, the property owners are looking to charge $4.35 per square foot for rent. Much says that Edward Don pays far below that figure.
"Their rent is very, very below market," Much said. "They're paying half of what the normal rent should be."
According to local newspaper The
Riverside-Brookeville Landmark, there are other issues with the 309,000-square-foot warehouse/office building. The building needs a new roof, which is going to be a significant expense and one Edward Don would have to take on, according to Much.
The company reportedly has inquired about what the village can do to help it with that expense, but North Riverside wants a commitment from the company that it will stay put long-term.
The village has granted the company money in the past. In 2007, North Riverside handed
Edward Don a $150,000 grant to expand parking at the site. In exchange the village got an agreement from Edward Don that the company wouldn't move prior to the end of 2012, when its lease expired.
Crain’s Business Chicago has recently said the company would move into a new 362,000-square-foot building at the northeast intersection of interstates 355 and 55. It would be built to Edward Don’s requirements, with 55,000 square feet of office space, Crain’s has learned.
Family-owned
Edward Don and Company, had $552 million in revenue last year, making it the 61st-largest privately held company in the Chicago area, according to a Crain’s list published in April. The company has about 500 local employees, the list said.
FES Magazine lists Don at the top of its 2011 Distribution Giants for the foodservice equipment and supplies sector.
The village of Woodridge has financial incentives in the works for the company, the mayor says, declining to provide details. If Edward Don signs a lease, plans could start going through the village governmental process as soon as next month, he says.
Edward Don also could decide to stay in its current building with its lease there expiring at the end of 2012. Edward Don has an offer to extend its lease at the building for five years, according to an article posted late Tuesday might on the website of the
Riverside-Brookfield Landmark newspaper. North Riverside’s village administrator told the suburb’s finance committee last week that the company wanted to decide in three or four weeks whether to take the offer, the newspaper reported.
