Sears Merchandise Group Heliport

The closure was due to economic reasons and corporate dissolution. The primary and sole user, Sears, went bankrupt and subsequently sold its entire corporate campus. With the company's departure and the sale of the property, the private heliport no longer had a purpose and was decommissioned.

The site of the heliport, as part of the entire former Sears headquarters property, was sold to Compass Datacenters in September 2023. The entire campus, including the concrete helipad, is slated for demolition to make way for a new, large-scale data center complex. The land is being completely repurposed.

The Sears Merchandise Group Heliport was a private facility integral to the massive 200-acre Sears corporate headquarters, which opened in 1992 after the company relocated from the Sears Tower in Chicago. The heliport's main operation was to facilitate rapid travel for company executives between the suburban campus, downtown Chicago, and regional airports like O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW). It was a symbol of corporate prestige and logistical efficiency during Sears' peak in the 1990s, representing the self-contained, 'city-within-a-city' design of the new headquarters.

There are zero prospects for reopening the heliport. The original owner and operator is gone, and the land has been sold for a complete redevelopment project that does not include aviation facilities. The heliport will be permanently demolished.