Rentals, multifamily demand driving multiyear housing boom in Crystal Lake, city planners say

Just behind the Walmart in Crystal Lake, a 280-unit apartment complex, the Springs at Three Oaks is nearing completion, city planners said. Once done, the complex boasts its amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center and a dog park.

Just north of that project, another rental development, 305-unit Redwood of Crystal Lake townhomes, will begin construction later this year. The Redwood subdivision received its final thumbs up from the City Council at its latest meeting earlier this month.

Together, the two projects are indicative of the increasing demand for more affordable, multifamily housing in the area, city planners said.

“The market is driven by multifamily housing,” said Katie Cowlin, community development director for Crystal Lake. “All through the suburbs, there’s that demand and these are filling up super quick, so having additional developments come through makes sense.”

The housing market in Crystal Lake began to pick up in earnest in 2017, after several years of low construction numbers because of the recession from a decade prior, Cowlin said.

Before that time, Crystal Lake lacked in available apartment housing stock, and it has only been over the past few years that apartment projects have come back into the city, Cowlin said.

The influx of residents into the city, and McHenry County as a whole, included young professionals coming back to the area after college, as well as retirees or empty nesters, Cowlin said.

“We have a healthy mix right now,” Cowlin said about the new influx of residents.

Mayor Haig Haleblian also echoed that sentiment in a recent editorial in the Northwest Herald on the state of the city, saying that “housing is booming with a new array of modern living options.”

Rentals are not the only kind of housing being constructed.

In addition to the Spring at Three Oaks, Woodlore Estates subdivision is mixed-use neighborhood of homes off of Route 31, northeast of the downtown Crystal Lake area.

More than 290 permits were issued as of February, and once completed, the subdivision will have 60 townhome units and 424 single-family homes, 105 of which are reserved for seniors, according to city documents.

“They are pulling permits like crazy,” Cowlin said of Woodlore. “It’s been a great addition to Crystal Lake.”

The other rental project expected to begin construction in 2022 in Crystal Lake a mixed-use building at 95 E. Crystal Lake Ave. that will add 99 units near the downtown.

While the downtown area overall has a low vacancy rate and is fairly developed, some “big pockets” of areas near the downtown core, along Congress Parkway, remain where apartments could be built, said Heather Maieritsch, economic development manager for Crystal Lake.

The location is attractive to residents who want to be within walking distance of amenities, either as part of a subdivision or a commercial area like downtown, she said. Adding residents within that area remains a goal of the city.

“It’s great to see downtown still being a destination and a high-demand area,” Maieritsch said. “We’re always asked by developers about being downtown.”

The Springs at Three Oaks already had hundreds of tenants as of March and was built “front to back” so that the construction wouldn’t be visible to the first tenants and rentals could be sold as soon as construction finished on each building, said Jake Meier, a spokesman for Continental Properties, the management company for the apartments.

“Our research shows that people want to work in the city but live in the suburbs,” Meier said. “Crystal Lake, including other Chicagoland cities, are strong markets for suburban housing options. It allows residents a quiet, neighborhood feel while still having convenient access to Chicago for work or weekend entertainment.”