Skender has announced the completion of Ace Hardware Corporation’s new 250,000-square-foot headquarters. The project, located at 2915 Jorie Boulevard in Oak Brook, has turned the old McDonald’s corporate campus’s main building into a bright, modern, amenity-filled workplace for the hardware retailer. Construction began on February 16, 2023, and was finished on time on September 18, 2023. Ace Hardware opened its doors in the new location on September 25, 2023. It, however, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 10, 2023.
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Skender is the general contractor for the Ace Hardware project, and CBRE Design Collective is the architect. Additionally, ESD, now Stantec Consulting Services, is the engineer.
The new Ace headquarters has open workstations, 150 meeting rooms, 12 cafes/pantries, and a range of collaboration and amenity areas. The old McDonald’s complex, designed by Dirk Lohan, grandson of legendary architect Mies van der Rohe, came up in the 1970s. It comprises three Brutalist-style structures occupying more than 80 acres in Oak Brook. The property has been vacant since 2019 when McDonald’s relocated its headquarters to downtown Chicago.
Many of the original architectural aspects of the main structure have been reused. This includes a wide atrium in the centre that joins the rest of the building and skywells. They enable abundant natural light to flow throughout the area. Demountable office and conference fronts, which are more sustainable and cost-effective than plasterboard, provide practical, soundproof, and visibly private internal office spaces. They also allow for speedier construction and give flexibility for future reconfiguration choices.
Details on the Ace Hardware Headquarters structure
All electrical and low-voltage wiring was installed beneath the whole second, third, and fourth levels, which are built on an existing six-inch raised-floor structure. Skender worked with Ace Hardware to obtain supplies earlier than normal in order to mitigate external supply chain problems, and he used flexible phasing and work sequencing to simplify the construction timetable further.
