Dive Brief:
- The 29 homes owned by Waste Management in the Prairie Crossing subdivision of Grayslake, IL, have all been sold or are under contract, the company reported.
- Waste Management became owner of the homes through a deal in the early 1990s it had with the developers of Prairie Crossing. The waste hauler and landfill owner agreed to buy back houses that could not be sold at market value because of landfill odors. That landfill company later merged with Waste Management.
- Residents paid an average of $275,000 for the homes, according to Anne Fridrych, senior manager for corporate real estate for Waste Management.
Dive Insight:
Fridrych said the company lost money on all of the houses, "but that was what the agreement was."
An unnamed investment group will buy 19 of the homes, freeing Waste Management to move forward from a three-decade-old promise that it fulfilled.