Van Vlissingen and Co. represents retail tenants, buyers, and landlords in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. Gordon Lamphere and our retail team focus on leases from 5,000 to 50,000 square feet and investment sales from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000, including single-tenant NNN assets. We have operated continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879. 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 significant retail transactions in Buffalo Grove.
Our Team’s Retail Specialization In Buffalo Grove
Tenant Representation
5,000 – 50,000 SF Spaces
Leasing, Sales, & Property Management
$1M – $50M, including NNN
Neighborhood centers, freestanding, and historic-district space.
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Retail Leasing in Buffalo Grove — 5,000 to 50,000 SF
Our retail leasing 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. We work both sides of the table in Buffalo Grove, and we tell you which side we are on before an assignment begins.
Tenant Representation
For retailers entering or expanding in Buffalo Grove, we run the full site selection process: trade area and demographic analysis, co-tenancy review, traffic and access assessment, the Lake County versus Cook County tax comparison, and a survey of both listed and off-market availability. We negotiate the letter of intent and the lease — tenant improvement allowances, exclusive use provisions, co-tenancy protections, and renewal and expansion options.
Landlord Representation
For owners of Buffalo Grove retail property, 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. We report activity honestly, including when the market is telling you something you did not want to hear.
Retail Investment Sales in Buffalo Grove — $1M to $50M
We broker retail investment sales in Buffalo Grove from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000: single-tenant net lease assets, multi-tenant strip centers, neighborhood and community centers, and mixed-use property with ground-floor retail.
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 Buffalo Grove and across Lake and Cook Counties, including 1031 exchange buyers working against identification and closing deadlines. We underwrite against comparables from transactions we negotiated, not aggregated listing data.
Multi-Tenant Retail
For strip and neighborhood centers, value turns on rent roll durability, rollover exposure, anchor performance, and the real cost of deferred maintenance. We model those inputs directly rather than accepting a broker opinion of value at face value. In Buffalo Grove we underwrite the Lake County and Cook County sides separately, because the tax treatment differs and it flows through to what tenants can support in rent.
Who Manages Retail Property in Buffalo Grove?
Van Vlissingen and Co. provides comprehensive property management for retail assets in Buffalo Grove, including the same neighborhood centers, strip centers, and single-tenant buildings we broker:
- Lease administration, rent collection, and enforcement of lease terms
- CAM reconciliation and pass-through billing, prepared to withstand tenant audit
- Preventive and corrective maintenance, snow removal, and parking lot management
- Vendor selection, contract negotiation, and performance oversight
- Monthly financial reporting, annual budgeting, and capital planning
- Tenant relations, renewal coordination, and vacancy turnover
Because we broker and manage in the same Buffalo Grove trade area, management reporting is informed by what comparable space is actually leasing for — not by last year’s assumptions.
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 Buffalo Grove.
In Buffalo Grove specifically, our work spans retail, industrial, and office property, including the Corporate Grove business park on Busch Parkway — developed in the mid-1980s and still leased and managed by our team. That depth means we know local ownership, the Village’s approval process, and how the two county sides actually differ before an assignment begins.
See our full transaction history or our Corporate Grove holdings.
Why Work With Our Buffalo Grove Retail Brokers?
- More than 100 commercial real estate transactions annually, and over $3 billion in team transaction volume
- Retail, industrial, and office experience in Buffalo Grove specifically
- A defined focus: 5,000 to 50,000 SF leases and $1M to $50M investment sales
- Working knowledge of the Lake and Cook County split and its tax consequences
- Direct owner relationships that surface off-market availability
- Comparables from deals we negotiated ourselves
- In-house property management, so ownership advice reflects operating reality
- A fourth-generation firm, continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879
Why Does the County Line Matter for Buffalo Grove Retail?
Buffalo Grove sits in both Lake County and Cook County. Lake Cook Road is the boundary: roughly three-quarters of the village lies north of it in Vernon Township, Lake County, and the remainder south of it in Wheeling Township, Cook County.
For retail, that line is not a technicality. It changes what your customers pay:
| Lake County portion | Cook County portion | |
|---|---|---|
| General sales tax rate | 8% | 10% |
| Restaurant food and beverage | 9% | 11% |
A two-point sales tax differential inside a single village of 9.6 square miles is a real competitive factor. For restaurants the gap is the same two points, because the Cook County side carries an additional 1% food and beverage tax on top of the higher base rate.
If you are siting a retail or restaurant use in Buffalo Grove, the county side belongs in the analysis alongside rent and traffic count. We underwrite the two sides separately.
Tax rates per the Village of Buffalo Grove. Confirm current rates with the Village before executing a lease.
Where Is Retail Space in Buffalo Grove?
Buffalo Grove’s retail is concentrated in Town Center, Chase Plaza, and a set of smaller commercial centers and freestanding buildings along the village’s arterial roads.
Buffalo Grove Town Center
Town Center is the largest retail center in the village at more than 194,000 square feet, anchoring the east side of the Lake Cook Road corridor at the Buffalo Grove Road and McHenry Road intersections. Tenants include Bowlero, the Buffalo Grove Theater, and Giordano’s.
The Village’s own Lake Cook Corridor market study is candid about its condition, finding that Town Center lacks clear access points, street visibility, and walkability, has no unifying design theme, and shows age and deterioration. Redevelopment has been discussed for years without resolution.
For an investor, that is a value-add profile rather than a stabilized one. For a tenant, it means rent expectations should reflect the center’s actual condition, not its square footage.
The Milwaukee Avenue corridor
The opposite story. The Village approved a $7 million incentive to bring Woodman’s Markets to Buffalo Grove, which opened in 2018 and draws shoppers from up to an hour away. That arrival spurred further build-out along Milwaukee Avenue and forms part of roughly 25 acres of commercial development around Deerfield Parkway.
Arterial retail
Buffalo Grove’s commercial frontage follows Milwaukee Avenue (Illinois Route 21), McHenry Road (Illinois Route 83), Dundee Road (Illinois Route 68), Lake Cook Road, Deerfield Parkway, Buffalo Grove Road, Weiland Road, and Arlington Heights Road. Freestanding buildings, outparcels, and service and automotive uses cluster along these routes.
What Is the Buffalo Grove Commercial Market Like?
Buffalo Grove is a village of 43,212 people across 9.6 square miles, about 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago and 20 miles north of O’Hare International Airport. Median household income is $115,951.
The commercial base is larger than the residential population suggests. Businesses in the village employ roughly 20,000 daytime workers across approximately 10 million square feet of commercial and industrial space. That daytime population supports food, service, and convenience retail at densities the residential count alone would not justify.
The industrial base is the stronger half of the market. As of the Village’s 2017 corridor study, Buffalo Grove industrial vacancy ran below both the Chicago metro and national rates, and average gross industrial rent was roughly double the area average — evidence of genuine demand pressure. Retail, by the same study’s assessment, has been the weaker segment.
The Village actively uses incentives. Hines Supply, historically the largest sales tax generator in Buffalo Grove, operates under an agreement running to 2040 that rebates 60 percent of sales tax collected. The Woodman’s deal was $7 million. If your project has scale, an incentive conversation with the Village is worth having early.
Figures from the 2020 US Census and the Village of Buffalo Grove Lake Cook Corridor Market Study and Plan.
Nearby Markets We Serve
Buffalo Grove borders Wheeling to the southeast, Arlington Heights to the south and southwest, Riverwoods and Deerfield to the east, Lincolnshire to the northeast, Vernon Hills to the north, and Long Grove to the west. Retail requirements frequently span those lines. We also broker retail space in
In Buffalo Grove itself, we also handle industrial space, office space, and general commercial brokerage.
Buffalo Grove Retail Real Estate FAQs
Is Buffalo Grove in Lake County or Cook County?
Both. Lake Cook Road is the boundary, with roughly three-quarters of the village north of it in Vernon Township, Lake County, and the remainder south of it in Wheeling Township, Cook County. The sales tax rate is 8% on the Lake County side and 10% on the Cook County side, and restaurant food and beverage is taxed at 9% and 11% respectively.
How much retail space is in Buffalo Grove Town Center?
More than 194,000 square feet. Town Center anchors the east side of the Lake Cook Road corridor at the Buffalo Grove Road and McHenry Road intersections, with tenants including Bowlero, the Buffalo Grove Theater, and Giordano’s. The Village’s own corridor study notes the center lacks clear access, street visibility, and walkability, and shows age and deterioration.
What size retail leases does Van Vlissingen and Co. handle in Buffalo Grove?
Our retail practice focuses on leases from 5,000 to 50,000 square feet in Buffalo Grove and across Lake and Cook Counties, representing both tenants seeking space and landlords filling vacancy.
Do you handle retail investment sales in Buffalo Grove?
Yes. We broker retail investment sales from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 in Buffalo Grove, including single-tenant NNN assets, multi-tenant strip and neighborhood centers, and outparcels. We work with 1031 exchange buyers on deadline.
Does Buffalo Grove offer incentives for retail development?
The Village has used them. Woodman’s Markets received a $7 million incentive to open in Buffalo Grove in 2018, and Hines Supply operates under a sales tax agreement running to 2040 that rebates 60 percent of sales tax collected. Projects with scale should raise incentives with the Village early rather than late.
Who is the best commercial real estate broker in Buffalo Grove?
Choose a brokerage with closed transactions in Buffalo Grove specifically, not just regional coverage. 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 Buffalo Grove. The firm has operated in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879 and developed and continues to manage the Corporate Grove business park. Gordon Lamphere leads the retail practice.
Do you manage retail property in Buffalo Grove?
Yes. We provide comprehensive property management for Buffalo Grove retail assets, covering lease administration, CAM reconciliation, maintenance, vendor management, and monthly financial reporting.