AFN Buys, Renovates 39,000-SF Office Building

NILES, IL-AFN has relocated to a 39,000-square-foot office building it bought at 7230 N. Caldwell Ave. The logistics company purchased the 4.3-acre property this fall and brought Summit Design + Build on board to undertake a $2.5-million renovation of the facility into the AFN Transportation Management Center, the company’s corporate headquarters.

The building will now support AFN’s growing operation, which was founded in 2003 with just three team members. The company has since grown to around 150 employees and has the potential to increase further in the coming years to as many as 300, according to company execuitves.

“It’s a central location to where the bulk of their employees and owners live,” Adam Miller, president of Summit, tells GlobeSt.com. “It was a great opportunity to buy an older building that by renovating they were able to have basically a new building in a good location close to the highway at Touhy and Caldwell avenues. There were quite a few facilities available in Niles, but this one suited their needs.”

Formerly a State Farm Insurance testing location, the building was acquired by a local church which used it for meeting space. After having been vacant for some time, AFN purchased the property, moving from its previous headquarters it leased in Deerfield, IL.

Designed by Cornerstone Architects, AFN’s new space includes a glass atrium entrance, private offices, meeting rooms, and an open office area, as well as a workout facility, patio with grilling area, enclosed heated garage and parking lot for more than 200 cars.

“AFN started to look to build a new facility, but went with an existing building because of timing and they probably saved a year of time, which was important because their lease was expiring,” Miller says. “If someone can find the right property for a good price, it’s pretty easy to renovate these buildings with the right team. You can really look at older properties and for the right amount of money turn them into new facilities for your use.”