A Texas-based firm wants to bring new life to former Aon headquarters in Lincolnshire

Texas-based Woodcrest Capital has acquired the former 31-acre Aon headquarters within the 330-acre Lincolnshire Corporate Center with the intention of bringing new life to it with highly competitive lease rates.

Filling an 818,000-square-foot property is a complex task in today’s market, but one assisted by the good condition of the buildings and the rents able to be offered based on the new landlord’s own purchase cost, said Michael Roy, president of asset management for Woodcrest.

“I think it’s reflective of the difficulties in the market right now, but also the opportunities,” he added.

While the company’s first choice would be a single user as the mid-1990s complex had before, it could be split among two or three, Roy said. The Class A property at 4 Overlook Point also has its own 50,000-square-foot data center not more than five or six years old, he added.

Though no tenants have yet been announced, Roy said there is already interest in the company’s ability to offer leases 80% below market rate.

“We have a lot of people calling in disbelief at the numbers,” he said.

Ben Roesler, Lincolnshire’s community and economic development director, said officials were heartened to hear of Woodcrest’s purchase of and vision for the property. Though it was known that Aon was downsizing over the last several years, the village hadn’t had long to focus on the property as a vacancy because the insurance company’s lease of the entirety had only recently ended.

The purchase now is hoped to have an influence on the health of the much larger corporate center as a whole.

“I think that is the heart of the corporate center,” Roesler said of Woodcrest’s purchase. “It does have a lot of potential to serve as a catalyst.”

Even though the rest of the center is still a source of competition for tenants, Roy agreed.

“I think it’s going to bring a lot back to the corporate center,” he said.

Despite the advantages the property boasts, and what he characterized as Woodcrest’s particular nimbleness and creativity in the market, Roy said it’s still difficult to estimate the time it may take to make and announce deals with potential tenants.