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In a move that signals continued strength in the suburban office real estate market, heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar announced Wednesday that it is moving its global corporate HQ from Peoria to Corporate 500 Centre in Deerfield. Caterpillar signed a multi-year lease with Corporate 500 Centre's landlord, Barings Real Estate Advisors, for the former Beam Suntory HQ that has been vacant since that company moved to Merchandise Mart last year. Caterpillar will relocate 300 employees to Deerfield by mid-2018; 100 workers will move by the end of the year.
Caterpillar CEO Jim Umpleby said that what ultimately swayed the company to the suburbs was Corporate 500's central location to major interstates, O'Hare International Airport and the office complex's ease of access to Chicago via Metra rail. Umpleby said the lease fulfills Caterpillar's goal of being easily accessible to customers and dealers, while offering the employees moving to the area flexibility to live in either the city or suburbs.
Barings Real Estate Advisors acquired Corporate 500 Centre from GE Real Estate Capital for $154M in 2015, the largest suburban office deal that year. Barings hired Lincoln Property to manage the property. Lincoln Property vice president Peter Kelly told Bisnow last year that Corporate 500 Centre, the only Class-A suburban office building of its kind outside of Evanston, completed a multimillion-dollar capital improvement plan that added amenities including more green space, fire pits, putting greens, outdoor grills, bike rooms, a fitness center and a micro market.
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