Sunstar Foster Site to be redeveloped

“My understanding is that it is not going to be until next year,” Manuel Galvan, a spokesman for Alderman Margaret Laurino (39th), said of the company’s planned relocation. “Alderman Laurino’s office is starting to get proposals for the space.”

The Sunstar Group, which is the parent company of Sunstar Americas, was founded in 1932 by a Japanese toothpaste tube manufacturer, and its worldwide headquarters is located in Switzerland. In 1986 Sunstar acquired the U.S. company John O. Butler, which manufactures toothbrushes and other dental hygiene products, and Butler’s plant at 4635 W. Foster Ave. became headquarters for Sunstar’s American division.

The Foster site is zoned M1-1 for manufacturing, but the property is bordered by a mix of uses. LaBagh Woods and entrance and exit ramps for the Edens Expressway are across the street from the plant, a block of homes adjoins the site to the west, and a Kmart department store at 5033 N. Elston Ave. is located to the south.

The planned Weber Spur bike trail is east of the Sunstar site, and a light industrial area is east of the trail. The bike trail, which will be created on a former railroad right of way, will start at Elston and Kimberly avenues in Mayfair and extend northeast into Lincolnwood. Extending the trail further south in Chicago has been considered, but additional railroad right of way would have to be vacated.

The site is occupied by two industrial buildings, one 63 years old and the other 70 years old, according to the Cook County Assessor’s Office.

Sunstar is seeking to build a 300,000-square-foot plant on an 80-acre site which the Archdiocese of Chicago owns near Roselle Road and the Addams Tollway, according to a report in the Daily Herald. The site is near the Medieval Times restaurant, 2001 N. Roselle Road.

Sunstar’s employers have been notified of the move, and many of them reportedly are expected to move to the new location.