Van Vlissingen and Co. represents retail tenants, buyers, and landlords in Lake Forest, 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. 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 Lake Forest.
We have operated continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879, thirty-seven years before Market Square opened.
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Retail Tenant Representation in Lake Forest — 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 Lake Forest, 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 downtown core, Settlers Square, and the Route 60 corridor. In the historic district we assess design review and signage constraints before the letter of intent, because a prototype that cannot be approved is not a viable site.
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 Lake Forest, and we tell you which side we are on before an assignment begins.
Retail Leasing, Sales & Property Management in Lake Forest — $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, mixed-use property with ground-floor retail, and historic-district buildings with apartments above shops.
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. 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 Lake Forest and across Lake County, including 1031 exchange buyers working against identification and closing deadlines. We underwrite against comparables from transactions we negotiated, not aggregated listing data.
Historic and Mixed-Use Retail
Lake Forest’s downtown inventory includes buildings on the National Register and others subject to local design review. Those constraints affect capital planning, insurable value, and the realistic universe of future tenants — and they are frequently underweighted in a broker opinion of value. We model them directly. Multi-tenant centers elsewhere in the city underwrite conventionally, on rent roll durability, rollover exposure, anchor performance, and deferred maintenance.
Historic and Mixed-Use Retail
Lake Forest’s downtown inventory includes buildings on the National Register and others subject to local design review. Those constraints affect capital planning, insurable value, and the realistic universe of future tenants — and they are frequently underweighted in a broker opinion of value. We model them directly. Multi-tenant centers elsewhere in the city underwrite conventionally, on rent roll durability, rollover exposure, anchor performance, and deferred maintenance.
Who Manages Retail Property in Lake Forest?
Van Vlissingen and Co. provides comprehensive property management for retail assets in Lake Forest, 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
Older buildings carry different operating realities than newer product — envelope maintenance, mechanical systems, and capital reserve planning all run on different assumptions. Because we broker and manage in the same Lake Forest submarket, management reporting is informed by what comparable space is actually leasing for, not by last year’s assumptions.
What Makes Lake Forest Retail Different?
Lake Forest is home to Market Square, which opened in 1916 and is widely cited as the first planned shopping center in the United States — the first retail development in the country built with unified design, common management, and dedicated automobile parking.
It was conceived by Lake Forest resident and real estate developer Arthur T. Aldis and designed by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, who blended Flemish, English, Bavarian, and Italian Renaissance elements into a U-shaped Arts and Crafts complex of brick and Bedford limestone. The open end of the U faces the train station. Market Square is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was restored in 1980, and gained a north arcade in 2017. It sold to L3 Capital in 2013.
At approximately 103,000 square feet, Market Square is classified as a neighborhood shopping center rather than a regional one. That scale is the point: Lake Forest’s retail inventory is small, historic, tightly held, and governed by design review standards that do not apply in most Lake County communities.
The practical consequence for a tenant or an investor is that Lake Forest retail rarely comes to market openly, and that build-out and signage in the historic district are constrained in ways a standard prototype will not satisfy. Both belong in the analysis before a letter of intent, not after.
Where Is Retail Space in Lake Forest?
- Market Square and the Central Business District — the historic core around Western Avenue and Deerpath, immediately adjacent to the Metra station. Boutique, service, and restaurant uses at small footprints.
- Settlers Square — the community retail node serving the west side of the city.
- The Route 60 and Waukegan Road corridors — larger-format retail, service, and convenience uses serving both Lake Forest and the surrounding communities, with better vehicular access and fewer historic-district constraints than the downtown core.
- Conway Park area retail — service and food uses supporting the corporate office population in west Lake Forest.
These four submarkets trade on entirely different terms. Downtown space is scarce, expensive, and design-constrained. Route 60 product is more conventional and more available. An assignment that treats “Lake Forest retail” as one market will be mispriced.
What Is the Lake Forest Trade Area Like?
Lake Forest has a population of 19,367 across roughly 7,200 households, with a median age of 47.4. Median household income is $189,118 and the median owner-occupied home value is $818,000. Analysis of 2023 Census data placed the 60045 ZIP code sixth among Illinois ZIP codes by average household income at $297,423.
The figure that matters most for retail is education: 81.2 percent of Lake Forest residents aged 25 and over hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. That is roughly double the national rate.
Taken together — small population, high household income, older median age, and an unusually educated base — the Lake Forest consumer supports specialty retail, professional services, and full-service restaurants at rents that the raw population count would never justify. It does not support volume-driven formats. Retailers who underwrite Lake Forest on headcount alone reach the wrong conclusion in both directions.
Population and household figures from the City of Lake Forest; income and education from the US Census American Community Survey.
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 Lake Forest.
The firm has operated continuously in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879. Market Square opened in 1916. Very few brokerages in this market can say they were already working when the country’s first planned shopping center was built — and that continuity is why we underwrite historic retail on its own terms rather than forcing it into a suburban template.
See our full transaction history.
Why Work With Our Lake Forest 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 leases and $1M to $50M investment sales
- Working knowledge of the historic district’s design review and signage constraints
- Four distinct Lake Forest retail submarkets underwritten separately, not averaged
- Direct owner relationships that surface off-market availability in a tightly held market
- 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
Nearby Markets We Serve
Lake Forest sits on the North Shore between Lake Bluff to the north, Highwood and Highland Park to the south, and Mettawa and Libertyville to the west. Retail requirements frequently span those lines. We also broker retail space in
In Lake Forest itself we also handle office space, industrial space, and general commercial brokerage.
Lake Forest Retail Real Estate FAQs
Is Market Square really the first shopping center in America?
It is widely cited as the first planned shopping center in the United States. Market Square opened in 1916 with unified design, common management, and a designated area for automobile parking — the combination that defines a planned shopping center. Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, which opened in the 1920s, is generally credited as the first suburban and first regional shopping center, but Market Square came first with those features and was built within an already established downtown rather than on open land.
How big is Market Square in Lake Forest?
Approximately 103,000 square feet, which classifies it as a neighborhood shopping center rather than a regional one. It was designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw for developer Arthur T. Aldis, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was restored in 1980, gained a north arcade in 2017, and sold to L3 Capital in 2013.
What size retail leases does Van Vlissingen and Co. handle in Lake Forest?
Our retail tenant representation practice covers 5,000 to 50,000 square feet in Lake Forest and across Lake 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.
Do you handle retail investment sales in Lake Forest?
Yes. We broker retail investment sales from $1,000,000 to $50,000,000 in Lake Forest, including single-tenant NNN assets, multi-tenant strip and neighborhood centers, mixed-use property with ground-floor retail, and historic-district buildings. We work with 1031 exchange buyers on deadline.
What is the Lake Forest consumer base like?
Lake Forest has a population of 19,367 with a median age of 47.4 and median household income of $189,118. The median owner-occupied home value is $818,000, and 81.2 percent of residents aged 25 and over hold a bachelor’s degree or higher — roughly double the national rate. The 60045 ZIP code ranked sixth among Illinois ZIP codes by average household income in an analysis of 2023 Census data. The trade area supports specialty retail, professional services, and full-service restaurants rather than volume formats.
Are there restrictions on retail build-out in downtown Lake Forest?
Yes. Much of the downtown core sits within the historic district, and Market Square itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Design review and signage standards apply, and a national retailer’s standard prototype frequently will not be approvable as drawn. Those constraints should be assessed before a letter of intent rather than after.
Who is the best commercial real estate broker in Lake Forest?
Choose a brokerage with closed transactions in Lake Forest 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 Lake Forest. The firm has operated in Chicagoland commercial real estate since 1879, thirty-seven years before Market Square opened. Gordon Lamphere leads the retail practice.
Do you manage retail property in Lake Forest?
Yes. We provide comprehensive property management for Lake Forest retail assets, covering lease administration, CAM reconciliation, maintenance, vendor management, and monthly financial reporting, including older and historic buildings with capital planning requirements newer product does not carry.