LISLE, IL-Navistar has officially purchased the 1.2-million-square-foot former Alcatel-Lucent East Campus here at Warrenville and Naperville roads for about $34 million. The company plans to invest a total of $110 million in the property to make it the truck-maker’s headquarters.

Alcatel-Lucent sold the complex due to consolidation, says Christopher Wood, an SVP and managing director with UGL Services. “Like a lot of companies, they looked at their business operations and determined that this location was surplus to their requirements,” he says. Wood was joined by Art Waldrop, David Stefancic, Scott Goldman, William Tom and Rick Nash in representing the seller, and Jones Lang LaSalle, led by John Musgierd, represented Navistar.

Wood says the sale process began in March 2009, and he was surprised to find a buyer so quick. “Given the economy, if you asked anyone how quickly it would take to move 1.2 million square feet, they would have said it could take years. I certainly feel like we got a big win-win with this,” Wood says.

Navistar is moving from its current 250,000 square feet in Warrenville, IL, and will bring more than 3,000 white-collar jobs to the facility, which should be complete by 2012. The rest of the investment will be used to upgrade parts of the 30-year-old facilities, as well as the construction of about 25,000 square feet of new offices. Navistar will also add a truck testing facility and a new parts facility at another location.