As a part of its on-going retail initiative, ULI Chicago convened a cluster of five neighboring communities in Northwest Lake County in early June to engage them in a discussion on challenges and opportunities for retail development.

Elected officials and staff members from Hainesville, Lakemoor, Round Lake, Volo and Wauconda were in attendance. ULI Chicago retail workshop panelists, Bridget Lane, Director, Business Districts Inc., and Todd Berlinghof, Partner, Hamilton Partners presented the framework for successful retail development prepared by the ULI Chicago Retail Workshop in Fall 2014. They presented available resources and engaged all attendees in a thoughtful discussion on challenges specific to the northwest Lake County area.

While population density, roadway access, community support and intergovernmental coordination are frequent challenges, the sub-region as a whole appears to be already performing well in terms of serving the retail needs of its population. Increased coordination between the communities could potentially help in identifying and leveraging future retail opportunities for mutual benefit.

If your community would like to schedule a local retail workshop, please contact Swasti Shah, Director of Community Engagement, ULI Chicago, for more information.

Learn more about ULI Chicago’s Retail Initiative