United Airlines to Locate Corporate Headquarters to O’Hare
(CHICAGO) March 3, 1999 – Mayor Richard M. Daley and United Airlines Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Gerald Greenwald today announced that the airline will develop a new corporate headquarters on 30 acres of land being vacated by the military at O'Hare Airport. Eight hundred senior-level executives and managers will be relocated from United's current office center in Elk Grove Township, where about 2,500 employees will remain. Mayor Daley said that United Airlines will anchor the 365 acres that will be ripe for private development as the federal government concludes its withdrawal from the space in the year 2001.
"This move will bring the world's largest airline to the world's busiest airport," Mayor Daley said. "United has helped us set a high standard for the type of investments that we want to attract. It also establishes a strong nucleus for developing the remaining 335 acres on the military site."
Mayor Daley said future commercial development of the site might include other corporate center, offices and hotels. Chicago Aviation Commissioner Mary Rose Loney said the United Corporate Headquarters positions the city to market the remainder of the real estate. As previously announced, corporate and general aviation will move to about 15 acres on the southern end of the military land, and the airport's heating and refrigeration plant may also be moved to the space.
Loney pointed out that other development opportunities exist at O'Hare, aside from the military land. Proposals are being reviewed for a 25-acre site on Touhy Avenue and for a 2-acre parcel located between the airport transit system and the O'Hare Hilton Hotel.
CenterPoint Properties will soon break ground on a 215-thousand square foot building to be leased to the United States Postal Service for handling international mail. Seven hundred additional jobs will be secured for the region with the completion of a new building at the airport's 50-acre cargo complex called the O'Hare Express Center.
AirLiance, a joint venture of United Airlines, Air Canada and Lufthansa plans to bring its airline parts distribution operation to O'Hare. This project will bring more than 100 jobs and a $7.2 million investment to the City.
Other companies leasing buildings in the Express Center include BAX Global Air Canada, DHL and Alliance Airlines. A sixth lease has recently been signed with British Air, which will occupy a portion of a 171-thousand square foot building beginning in April. Including the Postal Service project, The Express Center development has generated nearly 1,500 jobs in the region to date.
Said, Loney, "We intend to maximize the economic development opportunities at O'Hare to create jobs and foster growth for the entire region. The Chicago Airport System is the economic engine of the Midwest and these development plans will keep it operating at full power for many years to come."
