Three of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in Illinois—Melrose Park, Berwyn and Rolling Meadows—are in Chicago's western 'burbs. With the burgeoning population comes new development and investment, which is why we're excited to host The Future of the West Suburbs and Beyond on June 30, at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, starting at 7am.

Tucker Development CEO Richard Tucker (pictured), who'll be a panelist, made a major return to the Chicago market in May with the acquisition of Town Square Wheaton, a 200k SF mixed-use development featuring 160k SF of retail, dining and entertainment. Tucker bought Town Square Wheaton for $57.2M in a JV with Hutensky Capital Partners. “Some areas are pockets of density and influence," Richard tells us. "The west suburbs have several quality markets. We tend to look for areas with barriers to entry and transit-oriented options.”

Town Square Wheaton (pictured) is accessible to nearly 28,000 vehicles on Naperville Road daily and is pedestrian-friendly, says Richard. Tucker Development specializes in horizontal, mixed-use developments and shopping centers in the Chicago area and New Jersey. The firm's Chicago projects have almost exclusively been shopping centers.

Also among our panelists, GlenStar Properties co-founder/principal Michael Klein (pictured) tell us he believes he has one of the most attractive office properties in the west suburbs in 2400 Cabot Dr (pictured below) in Lisle. GlenStar bought the 205k SF former Computer Associcates HQ two years ago, with infrastructure unheard of for a suburban commercial space (i.e. 20k SF raised-floor data center, updated HVAC and electrical systems, 53k SF plates and two 15kw backup electrical generators. “We liked it because there wasn’t a lot of great space available in the area and historically," he says. "We've had amazing success in the suburbs.”

Also among the firm's west suburban properties is Continental Towers, a $25M, 900k SF office development in Rolling Meadows, which saw a population spike of 8.4% from 2009 to '12. GlenStar is building a 400-car parking garage for the 90% occupied property and has completed 250k SF in tenant improvements. To learn more, please join us for The Future of the West Suburbs and Beyond on June 30 at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, starting at 7am.