Crystal Lake, Illinois, is a charming city that sits 35 miles away from O’Hare International Airport, continues to be a major hub for new real estate investment, healthcare opportunities, and business expansion. This thriving community in the northwest suburbs of Chicago is perfectly situated, with two Metra train stations, abundant access to the outdoors, and excellent schools all within reach for the community. The city of Crystal Lake has many new projects planned from filling existing commercial corridors, encouraging reinvestment in multiple shopping centers developing new sites with retail, restaurants, healthcare, and housing.
Crystal Lake fosters growth and opportunity in McHenry County. According to Jim Haisler, CEO of the Heartland Realtor Organization—a non-for-profit trade organization in Crystal Lake, “the future opportunities for growth in Crystal Lake are wide. With the changing mix of the product in Crystal Lake, major opportunities include single family homes, condominiums, and townhomes—all of which are going up to help meet the demands of the growing community.”
One of the largest projects underway in the community, being led by Heartland Real Estate Partners, is the Water’s Edge development. This 30-acre mixed-use development will revitalize a tired shopping center into a vibrant neighborhood with new restaurants, townhomes, apartments, and a hotel. Water’s Edge will accommodate the high demand Crystal Lake sees for commercial property along Northwest Highway while providing the community with ample green space and amenities, including direct access to Three Oaks Recreation Area. Water’s Edge will offer residents a unique blend of luxury, convenience, and access to shopping, dining and the great outdoors, for more detail go to https://www.watersedgecl.com/.
In addition to giving life to underutilized properties, the housing market is expanding. In the last few years, more than 1,000 housing units have been approved for construction, including 304-units of ranch-style rental townhomes to the Route 31 corridor, a development by Redwood Apartment Neighborhoods.
Another development being developed by Hamilton Partners and Harlem Irving at 95 E. Crystal Lake Avenue called, The Enclave, will bring a mix of 99-rental townhomes and apartments to downtown available for rent.
Tim Beechick, a partner of Hamilton Partners, says the City of Crystal Lake has worked diligently to help push this development along, noting “the City of Crystal Lake has a cooperative spirit. It makes this a win-win for all parties.”
Crystal Lake has also seen success with current businesses. Last year, residents and visitors spent more than $147 million at restaurants in Crystal Lake, and according to the Illinois Department of Revenue, Crystal Lake had more than $1.4 billion in retail sales placing it in the top 20 for Chicagoland metropolitan area retail sales.
Crystal Lake continues to welcome new businesses. Mercyhealth opened a $105 million hospital and multi-specialty medical campus in the summer of 2023. The City has also welcomed a strong mix of locally-owned businesses, regional, and national chains. New restaurant additions include Guzman y Gomez, Crumbl Cookies, Summer Moon Coffee and Rookies All American Pub and Grill, alongside retailers such as Boot Barn, Banfield Pet Hospital and Hallmark.
The real estate market in Crystal Lake is hot across the board, from residential to commercial and reinvestment projects—Crystal Lake continues to push forward. With many new projects underway, the City of Crystal Lake is excited to attract new restaurants, retailers, and industry. If you are interested in learning more about available opportunities, contact the City of Crystal Lake at (815) 356-3737 to assist you in finding the right location for your business or check out the website at ClearlyCrystalLake.com.
