A Las Vegas company closed the sale of Harvard’s former Motorola campus on Tuesday after years of uncertainty and multiple failed attempts by previous bidders to buy the property.
The new owner – Pinnacle Fund Management, a subsidiary of another Nevada group called CAI Investments, LLC – is hoping to redevelop the property for future renters, company rep Matthew Tucker said in an email on Wednesday.
“We are thrilled to be working with the city and the local community to find the greatest and greatest benefit,” said Tucker. “At the moment we are investigating solar power solutions and are planning to redevelop the space and the square[e] a tenant who creates jobs and generates tax revenue for the local economy. “
Tucker declined to say how much PFM paid for the website.
PMF officially closed the deal with the US Marshals Service on Tuesday. The youngest owner, Xiao Hua “Edward” Gong, bought the premises in an online auction for $ 9.3 million in April 2016. Marshals Service was hired to sell the property while a criminal case was pending against Gong in Canada.
Attempts to reach the Ontario Court for an update on Gong’s criminal case have been unsuccessful.
“At this point, my first reaction is that things are going in a positive direction and we look forward to working with those who end up taking over the occupancy,” said Harvard Mayor Mike Kelly.
The 1.5 million square foot lot that used to be a Motorola manufacturing and distribution facility has been vacant for nearly two decades and deteriorates over the years.
Recently, a Canadian company called Green Data Real Estate Inc. was hoping to buy the 300-acre campus to use as a data center and rental business. However, they missed the final deadline in July. The property was “re-offered for sale to a qualified buyer,” according to an August report by the US Marshals Service.
At the time, US Department of Justice representative Mary Butler said a sale was unlikely to be completed within 90 days.
Kelly heard from CAI Investment representatives about a month later, he said.
“They were in town to touring the building a few weeks ago and they asked a lot of questions, but at that point they weren’t sure what they were going to do,” Kelly said. “But they saw it as an opportunity for further development.”
It is unclear when the property could be put back into service.
“We are in talks with several different tenants. Depending on where we land, the type of use and expansion will determine our final schedule, ”said Tucker.
Until recently, taxes on campus, the largest taxpayer within Harvard City and Harvard School District 50, had been in arrears since 2017. That doesn’t include a brief period in which an Ohio-based signage company accused some of that money when they tried. to buy the campus. However, these payments were recorded as an erroneous sale after the company withdrew in 2020.
On August 6, the Marshals Service provided $ 500,000 for these taxes, using some of the non-refundable money Green Data had already paid for the property. The remaining unpaid taxes, just under $ 500,000, were to be covered by part of the sale on Tuesday.
This payment has not yet appeared on the McHenry County Treasurer’s Office website as of Wednesday afternoon, and several attempts to contact Treasurer Glenda Miller have been unsuccessful.
The city has raised concerns over the years about the deteriorating condition of the Harvard property. Major mold remediation and sprinkler system replacement are among the major renovations, district officials said.
“We had a very short schedule with the US Marshals, so we’re still finalizing our budget,” said Tucker. “We worked with the city to come up with a plan to gradually bring the facility down to code.”
CAI also made a $ 5,000 offer Tuesday to buy the former Harvard police building in hopes of turning it into a “boutique hotel,” Kelly said.
Tucker confirmed CAI’s intentions for the property, noting that the city needed additional housing.
“There is only one more hotel in town, which is creating a huge demand for another operator. The development, stabilization and operation of the hotel will generate tax revenue, increase tourism and create many jobs for the local economy,” said Tucker. “With CAI taking over the Motorola factory, we will already have boots in town, which will allow us to get to work sooner rather than later.”
CAI placed the lowest of three bids on the property, Kelly said. The mayor expects each of the bidders to present their plan to the city sometime in October, he said.
