- Sears has been thrown a lifeline, but a possible liquidation still looms.
- Sears was once the largest retailer in the United States.
- In its heyday, the company was run from its sprawling headquarters, a 55-acre complex located on the west coast of Chicago.
In an unexpected twist, Sears has been thrown another lifeline.
On Tuesday, during a bankruptcy hearing, a judge ruled that chairman Edward Lampert would be given a second chance to buy the company. Judge Robert Drain said that Lampert’s $4.4 million takeover bid would be assessed against competing parties’ bids at an auction on January 14, Business Insider’s Hayley Peterson reported.
Sears was once the largest retailer in the United States. In its heyday, the company was run from its former sprawling headquarters, a 55-acre complex located on the west coast of Chicago. This was where Sears tested its products and printed the famous catalog.
In 1974, the company moved to Sears Tower (now Willis Tower), and these buildings were left deserted for 30 years. In that time, Sears went from being on top of the world to becoming one of the most distressed American brands.
Since then, developers have been working on transforming the brand's first home. Keep scrolling to see what it looked like then, and what it's looking like now:
This photo, taken in 1910, shows the original Sears, Roebuck & Co. complex.
Source: Library of Congress
Sears started off as a mail-order catalog company selling watches and jewelry in 1888. It became the largest catalog company in the United States after expanding its assortment.
At the time, Sears was America's largest mail-order catalog company ...
... and it ran its entire operation from this complex.
When Sears moved locations in 1974, these buildings were abandoned for the next 30 years.
In 2011, photographer Martin Gonzalez took a series of photos that show the inside of Sears' crumbling former HQ.
Corridors were left to decay.
In some cases, windows were knocked through.
There was even some old employee literature still left on the site.
The old elevators were still standing.
And some of the old office furniture was still there and intact.
There was an old punch clock where employees once recorded their shifts.
And the old fluorescent lights were rusted over.
But in 2007, development started on the site.
Sears' former power plant complex underwent a $40 million redevelopment to become a technology-focused charter high school, which opened in 2009.
In 2010, work started on the original 14-story Sears Tower. This historic building, once home to Sears' main offices, was renamed the Nichols Tower and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The work was completed in 2016 and cost $17 million. Today, it is home to the offices of nine non-profit organizations. The top floor is an event space and costs $1,500 to rent for four hours.
Source: Homan Square
In 2015, the former printing press factory was redeveloped into 181 units of affordable housing. The project was run by nonprofit Mercy Housing Lakefront and opened in February 2017.
Source: Mercy Housing
It cost $65 million to redevelop this building. The majority of funding came from the Chicago Housing Authority and from federal tax credits that were granted to the nonprofit for reusing this historic building.
Source: Mercy Housing
Although the building was completely dilapidated, Mark Angelini, the president of Mercy Housing, told Business Insider in 2017 that finding this property was a "real home run."
Source: Mercy Housing
When the developers arrived, features from the former Sears office were still intact.
Source: Mercy Housing
In some cases, they have kept these features.
Source: Mercy Housing
The rooms have been transformed ...
Source: Mercy Housing
... into one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments for low-income residents.
Source: Mercy Housing