A NATURAL FIT

Brothers Matt and Blair Nagel donate their former company’s headquarters to Lake Forest Open Lands Association.

WHEN MATT AND BLAIR NAGEL first built their family business headquarters in the heart of Middlefork, they chose the site for its quiet beauty. Tucked into one of Lake Forest’s most remarkable natural landscapes, the building was designed to feel connected to the land around it.

Large windows framed the changing seasons. Deer, coyotes, turtles, bluebirds, and sandhill cranes became part of the workday. Matt and Blair walked their dogs on nearby trails, and meetings occasionally paused when wildlife wandered past the glass.

“Our business was intense enough as it was,” Blair says. “We wanted to put our office in an area of tranquility and peace, in a setting that was calming.”

Now, nearly 20 years later, the property has entered a new chapter.

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Matt and Blair Nagel, their former headquarters has been donated to Lake Forest Open Lands Association (LFOLA) and transformed into The Nagel Campus for Open Lands—a new administrative home that brings the organization’s stewardship, engagement, and administrative teams together under one roof. LFOLA is an independently funded, community-based land trust in Lake Forest dedicated to preserving and stewarding natural landscapes. Founded in 1967, it manages more than 1,100 acres of restored prairies, wetlands, woodlands and ravines, offering public access and environmental education year-round.

For the Nagels, the decision grew out of both practicality and deep family history. As their business evolved into more of a family investment office, the brothers no longer needed the building in the same way. They considered several possibilities for the property before Matt’s wife, Janet, who has long been involved with LFOLA, suggested the organization as a potential future occupant for the space.

The timing proved ideal. LFOLA has long had departments and equipment spread across multiple locations. The Nagel Campus now provides professional offices, meeting spaces, warehouse storage, and room for future growth—all surrounded by one of the area’s most ecologically sensitive landscapes.

“It gives them the right space for the premier organization that they are,” Matt says. “Now everybody is under one roof.”

The nearly four-acre property itself feels uniquely suited to the organization’s mission. Designed by local architect Wells Wheeler, the building has expansive windows, natural light, and sightlines that keep the surrounding landscape constantly present.

“When we designed it, we tried to bring the outside in,” Blair says. “That’s really Open Lands’ whole philosophy, too.”

For the brothers, the gift also carries generations of personal connection to the area. Their family has lived along the North Shore for four generations after their grandfather immigrated from Germany in 1930. Matt and Blair grew up in Lake Bluff exploring the woods, wetlands, and trails near what is now protected Open Lands property.

“We were Skokie Ditch kids,” Blair says with a laugh. “We grew up back there walking with our dad and our dogs. We’ve always felt an affiliation with Open Lands.”

That connection to conservation remained central throughout their lives. Their father was an avid outdoorsman, and both brothers developed a lifelong appreciation for nature, wildlife, and land stewardship. Blair now owns a ranch in North Dakota where he works with organizations including U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited, and Pheasants Forever to restore native grasses and habitat. “Conservation is one of my passions,” he says.

The brothers still speak about the property with enormous affection. Matt kept binoculars in his office to watch birds outside his windows. Employees sent office-wide alerts when turtles began crossing the road each spring. Sandhill cranes occasionally pecked at the reflective glass, mistaking their reflections for rivals.

“We really did experience everything out here,” Matt says. “Coyotes, eagles, cranes, turtles—it was incredible. When we transferred ownership to Open Lands, I did ask that they keep my birdfeeder filled, and that we can continue to walk the property with our dogs.”

Now those experiences will belong to a new generation of LFOLA staff, volunteers, interns, and visitors.

“The Nagel Campus for Open Lands is far more than a new headquarters,” says Ryan London, President and CEO for LFOLA, of the largest in-kind gift that the organization has ever received. “It’s an investment in the future capacity of Lake Forest Open Lands. By bringing our stewardship, engagement, and administrative teams together in one place, it strengthens the daily work behind everything we do, from caring for land and water to welcoming people into a deeper relationship with nature. It gives us the space, presence, and stability to serve this community well into the future.”

Already, the organization has begun adapting the building for its work. Garages once used for business operations now store stewardship equipment and native seeds. Existing office and meeting spaces have been reimagined for LFOLA staff, while additional acreage surrounding the building leaves room for future possibilities.

“It’s in fantastic hands, and that makes us feel great,” Matt says. “We’re really pleased.”

The brothers say the decision to name the property The Nagel Campus for Open Lands felt meaningful—not because the gift was about recognition, but because the land and building have been such an important part of their family’s story.

“This building and land once represented our family’s work in business,” the brothers shared in the dedication language for the campus that will be hung on a plaque. “We’re honored to transform our former headquarters into The Nagel Campus for Open Lands, a place that celebrates nature and community, themes that have been part of our lives for generations.”

For LFOLA, the gift represents more than a new headquarters. It’s an investment in the future of conservation, education, and community connection in Lake Forest. And for the Nagels, it feels like the natural continuation of something that began decades ago in the woods and wetlands of their childhood.

“We didn’t want this place to lose what made it special,” Blair says. “We wanted to give back and let other people enjoy what we’ve been enjoying for a very long time.”

To learn more about the Lake Forest Open Lands Association, visit lfola.org.