Solo Cup site up for auction in Highland Park

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:32AM

The former Solo Cup Company headquarters, spread out over 28 acres in west Highland Park, will hit the auction block in March.

Solo Cup, which relocated its manufacturing and office facility to Lake Forest two years ago, announced last week that it has hired an auction services firm to finalize its transition out of Highland Park.

The property, at 1660 and 1700 Old Deerfield Road, “will be sold in a sealed bid convertible to an open outcry auction format. The owner will have the option to convert the offering to an open outcry auction after receipt of the bids. An initial earnest money deposit of 5 percent of the total purchase price is required in order to participate. Property inspections will be held by appointment only.”

The sealed bid deadline is at 4 p.m. March 6.

While rumors have long circulated that the city prefers the site redeveloped as an environmentally sustainable campus home to a leading green business, Mayor Nancy Rotering said Monday that the city’s greatest priority is ensuring the use fits in with the surrounding neighborhood and Briergate commercial district.

Looking for new use

Rotering said she’s been working with the city’s economic development team and Solo officials to help find the right new use. She added that the state and Lake County also have great interest in enticing a suitable buyer.

The property is currently zoned light industrial. It offers a 245,000-square-foot manufacturing building with 26,900 square feet of office potential. There also is a 64,500-square-foot office building with 23,000 square feet of warehouse space.

“It will be interesting to see what comes of auction process,” Rotering said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the options out there, but at the end of the day it needs to mesh well with the neighborhood.

“There are all kinds of potential in that space.”

Douglas Johnson, the managing director of CBRE Auction Services, stated that potential new uses may include retail, multi-housing, assisted living, medical, education and corporate headquarters.

Auction officials also highlighted the site’s upgraded infrastructure, which includes 12.5 mega watts of power, AT&T fiber optic lines and rail spur access.

“With the significant power and fiber redundancies in place, it may even appeal to data centers or a technology campus,” he said.