AT&T’s former research complex in Hoffman Estates is now one step closer to becoming what its New Jersey-based owner describes as a “metroburb.”
A ceremony was held Monday to tear down the last wall dividing the east and west portions of the project Bell Works Chicagoland — marking the first time the property’s main building has been connected. The eastern portion of the more than 1.6 million-square-foot building has hit nearly 100% occupancy.
Bell Works Chicagoland, a 150-acre campus once home to AT&T until 2016, was purchased by Inspired by Somerset Development in 2019. Since then, the developer has worked to turn the corporate campus into a “metroburb,” or self-contained town center.
“We did that so that we can crawl, walk and run, rather than redevelop the entire … space at once,” said Ralph Zucker, Inspired’s president and CEO. “By tearing down this wall, we’re celebrating the success of the metroburb experience — of creating Bell Works here in Hoffman Estates. A place that, when we started, people said, ‘Eh, nobody’s coming here for office anymore.’ And today, we’re on the [list] of every single office tenant out there.”
Inspired axed the former AT&T campus’ hulking catwalks and expanded the walkways on the upper floors to create a building that’s open, airy and bright. Zucker said someone standing inside Bell Works is no more than 45 feet away from natural light.
He believes Bell Works has become a destination for the Hoffman Estates community because it has a mix of retailers, offices and other amenities. Tenants like Swing Loose, an indoor golf simulator experience, often invite the building’s office tenants to visit during happy hour or host team-building events — and it attracts Hoffman Estates residents to visit Bell Works on the weekend.
Inspired has transformed other workplaces, like an old Bell Labs site in Homdel, New Jersey, and the former Commvault building in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. Zucker said the energy he sees at its Bell Works campus in New Jersey is becoming palpable at Bell Works Chicagoland.
“You can walk in on a Sunday evening when the shops are already closed and there’s nothing going on and there could be 2,000 people just humming and being there,” Zucker said of Bell Work’s New Jersey location. “Why would somebody come all the way 20 minutes from home just to sit? I think there’s been an evolution that we’ve seen more and more of people really wanting to be together in a safe public space.”
Inspired said the second phase, the property’s western portion, will open in the third quarter. The developer and its partners have already torn down the catwalks and opened up walls. A turf courtyard, called West Side Square, will soon be installed. The area will have furniture and host family-friendly events, according to Inspired.
There will also be an outdoor bar, dubbed Bar Bella, at the building’s existing patio, and Bell Lounge, a public space with free Wi-Fi that will host public workshops.
The west side of the property will include 430,000 square feet of office space with 35,000 square feet of furnished, turnkey suites for flexible short- and long-term leases. There will also be 70,000 square feet of retail, according to Inspired.
Leasing for the west side is already seeing momentum, Zucker said. The firm is close to inking leases with a couple of tenants, with more leases in the works.
He said the retail portion could include a pizzeria and other eateries. Zucker hopes the property can offer food and beverages across all price points to best suit customers’ needs.
“There are people who live down the block who I see walking in and saying, ‘I never knew this place was so cool,’” Zucker said. “We want to say to people, ‘Our house is your house. Come in. Make yourself at home.’”