Wonder Lake is now the fastest-growing Illinois town. How it’s trying to manage its expansion

Wonder Lake Village Administrator William Beith heard about the community’s new claim to fame last weekend via a text from one of the trustees.

“We knew we were going to grow, but I would not have guessed the fastest in the state,” Beith said.

But according to data newly released by the U.S. Census Bureau, Wonder Lake’s population as of July 1, 2023, was estimated at 4,889, up from 3,966 since 2020 – an increase of 23.27%, the largest of any municipality in Illinois. That growth can be attributed to two housing developments: The Meadows of West Bay and Stonewater.

The building boom in Wonder Lake started shortly after Beith started working for the village in June 2021.

“Two weeks after I started here, the guy from [Stonewater builder] D.R. Horton came in with 60 building permits. We had two in all of the previous year,” Beith said.

In May alone, there were 15 approved home construction permits in the village, he said.

Stonewater is expected to bring a total of 3,400 to 3,700 homes, and an additional 10,000 residents, to the village in the next 20 years. The section now underway now has 711 housing units in it, Beith said, including single-family houses, townhomes, duplexes and an age-targeted, attached four-unit model.

The Meadows of West Bay was a Neumann Homes development, left unfinished after the builder when bankrupt in 2007. Another developer, Lennar, bought and is finishing the development, which has between 300 and 400 homes in it, Beith said.

Village officials knew that eventually, Wonder Lake would be on the map for new residents.

“It was a matter of time until the universe aligned to get it moving,” said Village President Dan Dycus. The village and developer Andy Teegen of McHenry-based NRB Land worked together to get Stonewater ready for development, including city water and sewer, far in advance of any homes being built there.

“Wonder Lake will be a lot stronger if we lean into ourselves. We can benefit if those tax dollars go to our municipality, versus being sent to the county.”

—  Wonder Lake Village President Dan Dycus

Those utility systems were designed to serve east-side Wonder Lake residents and businesses too. The village hopes that by later summer or early fall, it will begin the project of extending both utilities from Stonewater to businesses along Hancock Drive that are currently on private well and septic systems. The village’s de facto downtown, the commercial corridor was annexed into Wonder Lake in February.

Other preparations the village has made in advance of the growth include using grant funds to purchase additional vehicles for the police department, increasing department salaries and expanding its parks.

“New public parks and pickleball courts have been added in Meadows of West Bay, a frisbee golf course was added in Woods Creek Park and Stonewater has a center park with over 11 miles of walking paths,” Dycus said.

Wonder Lake making news headlines for its growth is a little nerve-rattling, Dycus added.

“It puts us on the radar. I want to make sure the village lives up to the reputation” that buzz creates, he said.

At the same time, Wonder Lake wants to appeal to its longtime residents, as well as those who are not in the village. Another 4,000 residents around Wonder Lake are not inside the village limits.

“That is what we have to balance, the generations of people who have lived in Wonder Lake all of their lives” who want to retain the small-town feel, Dycus said.

The Hancock annexation and utility improvements also means those utilities will soon be closer to other, unincorporated sections of the village. Dycus hopes that encourages others to seek annexation.

“Wonder Lake will be a lot stronger if we lean into ourselves. We can benefit if those tax dollars go to our municipality, versus being sent to the county,” Dycus said.

What the growth also could bring to Wonder Lake is additional commercial investment, Trustee Joe Houston said.

More rooftops and residents “gives us that boost to attract new business to the downtown area,” Houston said.