Retail Space in Glenview, Illinois

Van Vlissingen and Co. represents retail tenants, buyers, and landlords in Glenview, Illinois. Gordon Lamphere and our retail team focus on tenant representation from 5,000 to 50,000 square feet and leasing, sales, and property management from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, including single-tenant NNN assets. Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Glenview.

We have operated continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879, twenty years before Glenview was incorporated.

What Makes Glenview Retail Different?

Glenview contains the largest completed redevelopment in the region, and it has the household income to support what was built on it.

The Glen is 1,121 acres — about 15 percent of the village

Naval Air Station Glenview operated from 1937 until its closure in 1995. What replaced it is The Glen, a 1,121-acre mixed-use community comprising homes, offices, The Glen Town Center, a lake, two golf courses, trails, and the Kohl Children’s Museum. It accounts for roughly 15 percent of the entire village.

Put that in context. Prairie Stone in Hoffman Estates is 750 acres. Randhurst in Mount Prospect sits on a site that produced a 966,633 square foot centre. The Old Orchard redevelopment in Skokie will add more than 750 residential units. The Glen is larger than any of them, and unlike most of them it is finished and has been operating for years.

For a retailer or an owner, that means Glenview offers something rare: a large planned mixed-use district with an established performance record rather than a projection, inside one of the most affluent villages in the region.

The household income is second only to Lake Forest

Median household income in Glenview is $143,056, a figure reported independently by three sources for 2024 and up from $138,758 the previous year. Per capita income is $88,649 and the median home value is $630,828.

More useful than the median is the distribution: across Glenview’s 18,400 households, the largest single share falls in the $200,000-plus bracket. That is a genuinely different consumer profile from a market where the median simply happens to be high, and it supports specialty, premium, and discretionary formats that would not clear elsewhere.

Of every market in our retail coverage, only Lake Forest is more affluent.

But the market is aging, and that matters

Median age in Glenview is 46.3 to 46.5, and 23.8 percent of residents are 65 or older. The population has declined about 2 percent since the 2020 census, and resident employment fell 3.62 percent between 2023 and 2024.

Against that, average household size is 3.14, which is high for an affluent suburb and points to families and multigenerational households rather than empty nesters alone. Sixty-three percent of households are married couples.

The honest read is a wealthy, stable, slowly aging market. Categories serving older households, health and wellness, professional services, and premium convenience have a deep and growing base here. Categories dependent on young household formation have a shrinking one. That distinction should drive a site decision rather than the headline income figure alone.

The Glen detail per Subdiview and Grokipedia. Population and household figures from the 2020 US Census via Wikipedia. Income figures from the US Census via World Population Review, Data USA, and Illinois Demographics.

What Does Glenview Retail Actually Cost?

Base rent is only part of the answer in Cook County, and Glenview’s combined sales tax rate breaks down as follows:

That matters in two directions. For a retailer, it is what your customers pay at the till, and it affects what a high-ticket category can support. For an owner, the Cook County real estate tax pass-through is separately the largest variable in an operating budget and varies materially by property.

The comparison worth understanding is northward. Kenosha, Wisconsin runs a combined sales tax of 5.5 percent — 5 percent state plus a 0.5 percent county levy, with no municipal or special district addition. That is a 4.25 percentage point difference, and on a $2,000 furniture or appliance purchase it is $85. For everyday and convenience categories that gap is irrelevant. For high-ticket goods it is a reason some Glenview-area customers drive north, and a retailer in those categories should understand the leakage before signing.

We model occupancy on a gross effective basis and examine the assessment history of a specific building before a letter of intent, rather than comparing base rents across county and state lines as though they were equivalent.

Glenview rate breakdown per Subdiview; components sum to 9.75. Kenosha rate per SalesTaxHandbook. Confirm both with the relevant revenue departments before relying on them.

Where Is Retail Space in Glenview?

• The Glen and The Glen Town Center — the 1,121-acre mixed-use district on the former naval air station, with the village’s most significant concentration of retail, dining, and entertainment alongside homes, offices, and recreation.
• Downtown Glenview and the Glenview station area — the historic core around 1116 Depot Street on the Milwaukee District North line, with smaller-footprint retail and service uses.
• The North Glenview station area — a second commuter node with its own catchment.
• The Waukegan Road and Milwaukee Avenue corridors — the principal north-south arterials, carrying community and convenience retail.
• Willow Road, Lake Avenue, and Glenview Road — east-west arterials serving neighborhood trade and connecting toward the Edens Expressway.

The Glen and the historic downtown are different products. The Glen is a planned district with modern floor plates, structured parking, and a curated tenant mix. Downtown is older, smaller-format, and walkable around a rail station. The arterials trade as conventional community retail. A comparable set averaged across all three describes none of them.

What Is the Glenview Trade Area Like?

Glenview had 48,705 residents at the 2020 census across 14.00 square miles of land, a density of 3,478.6 per square mile, in 18,933 housing units. It is the 31st most populated city in Illinois. Current estimates put the figure at 47,752 and projections indicate continued modest decline.

The population is 68.4 percent White, 16.2 percent Asian, and 8.2 percent Hispanic. A 16 percent Asian population in an affluent North Shore suburb is a meaningful retail fact: it supports specialty grocery, restaurant, and service formats at densities the income figure alone would not predict, and it may partly explain the high average household size of 3.14.

The trade area extends across the North Shore. Glenview adjoins Northbrook, Wilmette, Golf, Morton Grove, Niles, and Northfield, with Skokie and Evanston to the south-east, and it sits about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago with Edens Expressway access. The Glen in particular draws from well beyond the village, because a 1,121-acre district with two golf courses, a children’s museum, and a town center is a regional destination rather than a neighborhood amenity.

Two Metra stations on the Milwaukee District North line serve the village. That line runs seven days a week, which matters for retail: unlike the rush-hour-only North Central Service, weekend rail traffic here is a genuine contributor rather than a weekday-only commuter flow.

Population and housing figures from the 2020 US Census via Wikipedia. Demographic composition per Illinois Demographics.

Retail Tenant Representation in Glenview — 5,000 to 50,000 SF

Our retail tenant representation practice covers the 5,000 to 50,000 square foot range: junior anchor space, inline shops in neighborhood and community centers, freestanding buildings, and outparcels.

For retailers entering or expanding in Glenview, we run the full site selection process: trade area and demographic analysis, co-tenancy review, traffic and access assessment, and a survey of both listed and off-market availability across The Glen, the two station areas, and the Waukegan Road and Milwaukee Avenue corridors.

Three things shape a decision here. The Glen versus everything else, because a planned district with curated co-tenancy and structured parking is a different proposition from an arterial strip or a historic downtown block, at a different rent. Age profile versus concept, because a market with 23.8 percent of residents over 65 and a declining population rewards some categories and penalizes others regardless of how high the median income is. And the tax position, because at a 9.75 percent combined sales tax against 5.5 percent in Kenosha County, high-ticket categories should understand northward leakage before committing.

We negotiate the LOI and the lease — tenant improvement allowances, exclusive use provisions, co-tenancy protections, and renewal and expansion options. We work both sides of the table in Glenview, and we tell you which side we are on before an assignment begins.

Retail Leasing, Sales & Property Management in Glenview — $1M to $50M

For owners and investors we handle retail leasing, investment sales, and property management from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000: single-tenant net lease assets, multi-tenant strip and neighborhood centers, outparcels, and mixed-use property with ground-floor retail.

Landlord Representation

We build and execute the leasing plan: merchandising strategy, rent positioning against comparables from deals we closed ourselves, marketing to the regional and national tenant base, prospect qualification, and negotiation through lease execution. In Glenview that means leading with the income distribution rather than the median — the largest share of households sits in the $200,000-plus bracket, which is a stronger story than a median figure conveys — and being realistic about which categories the age profile supports. We report activity honestly, including when the market is telling you something you did not want to hear.

NNN Investment Sales

Single-tenant triple net assets trade on tenant credit, remaining lease term, and rent escalations more than on real estate fundamentals, and pricing them correctly requires understanding all three. We represent buyers and sellers of NNN retail in Glenview and across Cook County, including 1031 exchange buyers working against identification and closing deadlines. We underwrite against comparables from transactions we negotiated, not aggregated listing data.

Planned District and Arterial Retail

Assets inside a planned mixed-use district underwrite differently from arterial strip. Co-tenancy is managed rather than incidental, which supports rents but also means a single anchor departure affects the whole district. Association and declaration structures can constrain what an individual owner controls. Parking is usually structured and carries a maintenance obligation that surface lots do not. Against that, The Glen has an operating record rather than a projection, which is more than can be said for most large redevelopments in this region.

Arterial and downtown assets in Glenview underwrite conventionally, on rent roll durability, rollover exposure, and the Cook County tax line. We model both on their own terms.

Who Manages Retail Property in Glenview?

Van Vlissingen and Co. provides comprehensive property management for retail assets in Glenview:

• Lease administration, rent collection, and enforcement of lease terms
• CAM and tax reconciliation, prepared to withstand tenant audit
• Preventive and corrective maintenance, snow removal, and parking management
• Vendor selection, contract negotiation, and performance oversight
• Monthly financial reporting, annual budgeting, and capital planning
• Tenant relations, renewal coordination, and vacancy turnover

Cook County real estate tax pass-throughs are large enough that a reconciliation error becomes a material dispute rather than a rounding one, and tenants in an affluent market read their statements carefully. Where a property sits inside a planned district, the governing declaration or association agreement needs reading properly before an operating budget is set, because it determines what the owner controls and what is shared. Structured parking also carries a capital and maintenance obligation that surface lots do not, and it should be reserved for rather than deferred.

What Is Van Vlissingen’s Transaction Volume?

Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Glenview.

Increasingly the largest part of our management portfolio is third-party assignments. What owners are buying is the operating discipline we built running our own assets — 870 acres and more than 6 million square feet across three corporate parks we developed and still manage, held through multiple market cycles since the mid-1980s.

See our full transaction history.

Why Work With Our Glenview Retail Brokers?

• More than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and over $3 billion in team transaction volume
• A defined focus: 5,000 to 50,000 SF tenant representation and $1M to $50M leasing, sales, and management
• Income distribution presented rather than the median alone, because the $200,000-plus share is the stronger story
• Age profile treated as a category filter rather than ignored behind a high income figure
• Occupancy modeled on a gross effective basis, including the 9.75 percent sales tax position
• Planned district and arterial assets underwritten on their own separate terms
• Direct experience developing and operating large planned mixed-use districts
• A fourth-generation firm, continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879

Nearby Markets We Serve

Glenview sits in northern Cook County adjoining Northbrook to the north, Wilmette to the east, Golf, Morton Grove and Niles to the south, and Northfield to the north-east, with Skokie and Evanston beyond. Retail requirements frequently span those lines, and The Glen draws from well beyond the village. We also broker retail space in

• Skokie
• Evansto
• Lake Forest
• Greater Chicagoland

In Glenview itself we also handle industrial space and general commercial brokerage.

Glenview Retail Real Estate FAQs

What is The Glen in Glenview?

A 1,121-acre mixed-use community built on the site of Naval Air Station Glenview, which operated from 1937 until its closure in 1995. It comprises homes, offices, The Glen Town Center, a lake, two golf courses, trails, and the Kohl Children’s Museum, and accounts for roughly 15 percent of the entire village. For scale, Prairie Stone in Hoffman Estates is 750 acres and the Old Orchard redevelopment in Skokie will add more than 750 residential units. The Glen is larger than either, and unlike most large redevelopments in this region it is finished and has an operating record rather than a projection.

What is the sales tax rate in Glenview?

9.75 percent combined, made up of 6.25 percent Illinois state, 1.75 percent Cook County, 0.75 percent Village of Glenview, and 1.00 percent Regional Transportation Authority. For comparison, Kenosha, Wisconsin runs 5.5 percent, a 4.25 percentage point difference. On everyday and convenience categories that gap is irrelevant; on high-ticket goods such as furniture and appliances it is a reason some customers drive north, and a retailer in those categories should understand the leakage before signing. Confirm current rates with the Illinois Department of Revenue.

What is the Glenview consumer base like?

Very affluent and aging. Median household income is $143,056, reported independently by three sources for 2024 and up from $138,758 the year before, with per capita income of $88,649 and a median home value of $630,828. More useful than the median is the distribution: across 18,400 households, the largest single share falls in the $200,000-plus bracket. Only Lake Forest is more affluent among the markets we cover. Against that, the median age is around 46.5, 23.8 percent of residents are 65 or older, and the population has declined about 2 percent since the 2020 census.

Does Glenview’s age profile affect what retail works?

Yes, and it should drive site decisions more than the headline income figure does. With 23.8 percent of residents over 65 and a modestly declining population, categories serving older households, health and wellness, professional services, and premium convenience have a deep and growing base. Categories dependent on young household formation have a shrinking one. Average household size is 3.14 and 63.3 percent of households are married couples, which points to families and multigenerational households rather than empty nesters alone, so the picture is more nuanced than the median age suggests.

Where is retail space located in Glenview?

The Glen and The Glen Town Center hold the village’s most significant retail concentration on the 1,121-acre former naval air station site. Downtown Glenview around the station at 1116 Depot Street is the historic core with smaller-footprint retail, and North Glenview is a second commuter node. Waukegan Road and Milwaukee Avenue are the principal north-south arterials, with Willow Road, Lake Avenue, and Glenview Road serving east-west neighborhood trade toward the Edens Expressway.

How good is transit access in Glenview?

Two Metra stations serve the village on the Milwaukee District North line, at 1116 Depot Street and North Glenview. That line runs seven days a week, which matters commercially: unlike rush-hour-only services, weekend rail traffic here is a genuine contributor to retail rather than a weekday-only commuter flow. The village also has Edens Expressway access and sits about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.

What size retail leases does Van Vlissingen and Co. handle in Glenview?

Our retail tenant representation practice covers 5,000 to 50,000 square feet in Glenview and across Cook County. On the leasing, sales, and property management side we handle retail assets from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, including single-tenant NNN.

Who is the best commercial real estate broker in Glenview?

Choose a brokerage that presents the income distribution rather than the median alone, treats the age profile as a category filter rather than hiding it behind a high income figure, and underwrites planned district and arterial assets on their separate terms. Van Vlissingen and Co. performs more than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and our team has completed over $3 billion in transaction volume, including retail transactions in Glenview. We have developed and operated large planned districts ourselves, across 870 acres and more than 6 million square feet. The firm has operated in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879. Gordon Lamphere leads the retail practice.

Do you manage retail property in Glenview?

Yes. We provide comprehensive property management for Glenview retail assets, covering lease administration, CAM and tax reconciliation, maintenance and parking management, vendor oversight, and monthly financial reporting. Where a property sits inside a planned district, the governing declaration or association agreement needs reading properly before an operating budget is set, and structured parking carries a capital and maintenance obligation that surface lots do not.