Nearly a decade after buying 458 acres of land in Pleasant Prairie, Abbott Labs will sell the land to the village, which is planning to develop it into a new corporate park.
Abbott Labs planned to build a research and office campus on the site, but never moved forward with those plans. The land remains undeveloped.
The village announced Friday afternoon it plans to purchase the property, located at the northwest corner of County Highway Q and I-94, from a subsidiary of Lake Bluff, Illinois-based Abbott for $37.5 million.
The land, along with an adjacent property owned by the village, will be developed as a corporate park to be named Prairie Highlands, with a focus on manufacturing, office and commercial uses, under a new plan by the village.
Village Administrator Michael Pollocoff said the village has a strong desire to ensure the last remaining developable land along the interstate be reserved for its highest and best use.
“Since 2007, the village has maintained a good relationship with Abbott that has yielded a high-quality site that is ready for development,” Pollocoff said. “Abbott has remained cognizant of the village’s need to maintain economic development efforts for the good of the community and region as a whole.”
The village approached Abbott about purchasing the property and will allocate funds from its current tax incremental district towards the purchase of the land. Plans to retire the TID by 2023 remain in place, returning nearly $770 million to the tax roll, according to the village.
The village is proposing creating a new TID for the project, to enable development of the property.
“The new park will complement existing and planned development in the area,” Pollocoff said. “This site is well suited to support manufacturing, office and commercial uses.”
Over the past decade, Abbott, the village and its partners have worked to prepare Abbott’s 458-acre site and the surrounding corridor for future use and development by improving roadways and expanding interchanges. Those improvements attracted Uline to relocate its corporate headquarters, the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets to expand and additional office and industrial growth, Pollocoff said.
The Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission will consider proposed plans for the project on Monday. The Village Board will consider the plan April 17.
