Hoffman Estates grows into major suburban hub
Hoffman Estates is changing.
The village, once a small bedroom community, has become a major corporate center with an emerging entertainment and shopping district.
The village is headquarters to corporate giants like Sears Holdings, AT&T, GE Capital Services, Siemens Medical Systems and others. Significant commercial development in recent years includes the Prairie Stone Business Park, where two huge buildings are now being constructed and the Sears Centre Arena now offers a variety of entertainment, sports and special events.
Development of the Poplar Creek Crossing retail development at I-90 and Route 59 is ongoing and includes Cabela's outdoors and sporting goods store, with a taxidermy museum, dioramas, aquariums, a 26-foot-high conservation mountain, shooting gallery and more.
More shopping and restaurants are planned for the booming area, including a Scottish pub and a variety of ethnic restaurants.
Splash H2Otel and Conference Center is a proposed development on 22 acres that will feature an indoor/outdoor water park and small conference center with meeting space available to area businesses.
Hoffman Estates has always worked for the growth and improvement of the village, and, as a result, the village keeps expanding, said Terri Hunt, broker-owner with RE/MAX Suburban.
"Village leadership is very proactive and hands-on," she said.
Residential construction in Hoffman Estates began in 1954 when Father and Son Construction, owned by Sam and Jack Hoffman, purchased land east of Roselle Road between Golf and Higgins roads. The company offered affordable tract houses with various options to appeal to families who wanted to live in the suburbs. The company donated two park sites, four church sites and began construction on the village's first school.
The subdivision grew into a booming suburb when Centex Corp. began mass producing houses on adjacent lots. Hoffman Estates incorporated in 1959.
"Today Hoffman Estates has a nice diversity of real estate - condominiums from $100,000 to homes for $1 million plus and just about everything you can think of in between," said Tony Saviano, broker-owner with Realty Executives Experts. "So whatever one's budget and taste buds, we can accommodate it."
East of Barrington Road and south of I-90 is the original section of town, where most of the houses were built back in the 1960s. They are mostly ranch homes with three bedrooms and one-car garage.
Farther north and west, there are newer two-stories, split raised ranches with various designs and a lot of townhouses, including higher-end luxury townhouses, Saviano said. "It's a variety. It's not one size fits all."
Haverford Place to the west is an older adult community of single-family ranch homes for buyers 55 years and older, he said.
"The north end (of Hoffman Estates) has Winstone Knolls, built in the late '60s and '70s, and executive communities of Charlemagne and Evergreen," Hunt said.
Buyers seeking the open space of the far Northwest suburbs need go only as far as Hoffman Estates. More than a third of the village is dedicated to forest preserves, including two major preserves with biking and walking trails, and there's an abundance of open space with lots of recreation.
The Hoffman Estates Park District is excellent, Hunt said. "There are several local parks plus several facilities - Willow Rec Center on the north end, Blackhawk Community Center off Higgins and Prairie Stone Fitness Center on the west end.
"We also have dog parks, skate parks and the state-of-the-art pool facility, Seascape, is just tremendous."
Golfers have several local courses within the community where they can play their game. The Hoffman Estates Park District maintains the Poplar Creek Country Club with lighted driving range for the summer and indoor driving range in the winter, clubhouse and banquet facilities.
The 18-hole Hilldale Golf Club winds its way through the center of the community while the Highland Woods Golf Course is surrounded by forest preserves.
The village's location near a network of major highways provides easy access to surrounding areas.
With its strong corporate presence, entertainment and retail development, award-winning schools, forest preserves, excellent park district and recreation and location near the tollway, Hoffman Estates has proved to be a desirable place to live.