Oak Brook lands HUB Group

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:53AM

Oak Brook has passed an economic incentive agreement to lure HUB Group, Inc.’s corporate headquarters to the village.

HUB Group, currently located in Downers Grove, began looking at sites in and out of state for its corporate headquarters, which included sites in Burr Ridge and Oak Brook.

With the agreement passed, HUB Group plans to purchase and demolish the site of the Reed Office Building, 2000 Clearwater Drive, and build a 120,000-square-foot office building.

“We are moving toward closure and should be closing on the property Jan. 31,” said David P. Yeager, HUB Group chief executive officer. “Our selection process was long, longer than I would have liked.

“We’re excited to be here. We see it as a great business atmosphere here.”

Yeager said the goal is to get the new office building LEED certified - either gold or platinum - and said the site could include some additional green space or park land for village use.

“We think there is an opportunity to create some green space for the residents and other companies to enjoy,” Yeager said. “We’ll work very hard to be a good corporate citizen.”

Initially, the building will house 350 HUB Group employees, but Yeager said the company is in the process of consolidating sites and by 2015 he expects about 600 employees to be working in the new building.

The Hub Group has agreed to occupy the space for a minimum of five years and will reimburse the village for its legal expenses in preparing the agreement. The village also rezoned the property Tuesday night to O-4 to prepare the site for construction.

The process will go to the village’s Plan Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals shortly and is expected to come back to the Village Board in March.

“This will allow us as a village to develop that eastern end (of the village),” said Trustee Elaine Zannis. “The village and (Greater Oak Brook Chamber of Commerce) have been working with HUB for quite a long time.

“It’s not just a win for us today. It’s a long-term strategic move.”

In September, the village offered two incentives - a 50 percent reduction in permit fees and a reimbursement of up to 50 percent of the public infrastructure costs up to a maximum of $300,000 -to attract the HUB Group. The HUB Group had initially looked at a North York Road site, but settled on the Clearwater property for its new headquarters.