As Japanese drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. prepares to close its Deerfield headquarters, where about 1,000 employees work, village officials and local business leaders say interest already is brewing in the company’s three-building campus.
The large complex along Lake Cook Road in Deerfield just west of the Tri-State Tollway faces many unknowns after Takeda announced in June that it would close its headquarters by the end of the year and relocate to Boston following the decision to acquire Irish drugmaker Shire. The company has said some employees will be relocated or work remotely for a period, while other positions will be eliminated.
Despite setting a date for the move, Takeda, which owns the buildings, has not yet put the Deerfield site and its combined 628,000 square feet of space up for sale, according to company spokeswoman Julia Ellwanger. The company is hoping to have a sale completed by the end of March 2020, she said.
Even though the property is not on the market, Deerfield Mayor Harriet Rosenthal recently said the site is garnering interest from potential buyers.
“I have been hearing from people who have shown an interest in the property,” Rosenthal said. “As things unfold, we’ll have a better sense of what’s going on. Until the property is for sale, there’s not much to talk about.”
Vicki Street, executive director of the Deerfield Bannockburn Riverwoods Chamber of Commerce, also said the buildings are generating interest among potential buyers and that the site does offer many modern amenities.
While interest in the campus likely will pick up in the months ahead, the community also is bracing for the forthcoming loss of the 1,000 employees who still work at the Takeda site in Deerfield, Street said.
The business closing could affect demand for hotels and restaurants near the location, although it’s too early to tell how extensive the reverberations will be, she said.
Katharine Degoma, general manager of Hyatt Regency Deerfield across the tollway from Takeda, said her hotel is preparing for a short-term dip in business once the closing happens, but she said it shouldn’t linger for too long.
“We are lucky enough to have many of our other neighbors experiencing tremendous growth over the last 18 months,” Degoma said. “It’s only a matter of time before another tenant takes over these buildings and I understand there is a lot of interest in the site.”
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
