When I first discovered the plant, my goal was to identify what it was, or once was. I tried to use Google Search to figure out the address (which I eventually did), and then the county property tax ID. I never did – and I never spent anytime on this again, despite all my research. Well today (with a little help), I did find it, and a wealth of info!
The property is broken into two parcels. It seems this has been the case for sometime though I never ran across it before, and I am not sure why. Everything from 11400 to 116th St is the second parcel – this is property tax PIN 25-24-201-001-0000 and it is identified as 11400 S. Torrence.
Everything south of there, all the way to the fence line at 116th St. is one parcel. This parcel is not what interests me most (for obvious reasons – it is just an empty field) but I will come back to this later. Note that the Cook County Assessor shows a photo looking north from 116th St but also a random photo of the Torrence Ave Bridge over the Calumet River (further north around 12500S).
The second parcel is ‘all the rest’ – from the coal bunker north all the way to the (missing) railroad tracks. This is property tax PIN 25-13-400-008-0000 and is identified as what we know to be the address for the plant proper (the gatehouse) – 11236 S. Torrence. Note that the Cook County Assessor shows a photo of this parcel as standing on 116th St, looking through the fence to see the quench station from the south side. Remarkably this photo is from 2007 (it is also at the top of this post) so you get to see the upper wooden part of the tower still intact, as well as the X belt that fed the coal bins.
But now that we know the PIN numbers we can dig a little deeper. Let’s take a look at the property tax overview for the properties. Let’s start with 11236. This should show us who the property owner on record is and what address the bills are mailed to:
Fairly certain no mail has been delivered to the plant in sometime! And ‘Taxpayer of’ is not very revealing. But let’s take a look at the tax bills themselves.
Not surprisingly, no one has paid the taxes in many years. But I was surprised to see it was paid for a number of years after the plant closed (conveniently, the history goes back to 2001 – the year the plant shut down). Note that in 2004 and 2005 it was overpaid but in the others it was well short of the amount due. Below is a copy of the most recent tax bill.
The assessors valuation is very interesting. I wonder how often assessors have to evaluate not just properties like this, but actual structures. Notice the huge discrepancy on ‘building assessed value’ while the other line items are much more similar, if not identical. I can’t imagine any structure has value in terms of resale (is there any other type of value in this situation?) besides the main office – I’m not sure if it is even worth $169K. Then again, a three story brick building that is intact has to be worth something. I’d love to know more about how these figures were arrived at.
The photo at the top of this post was available via the Cook County Assessor website (linek above), and the below photo was also available when you click the ‘historical photo’ on the ‘Cook County Viewer’.
And now 11400 S. Torrence. Their taxes should be a similar situation, right?
Like 11236, these were paid for a couple years after the shut down – and nothing since. Not shocking! But note that the second half of 2019 and none of 2020 were billed! $0 owed! But have a look at the mailing information on this one.
Totally blank! Normally, I’d attribute that to the ‘in purgatory’ status of these properties. But then why isn’t 11236 blank also? I have a wild guess.
Last winter I did a slow crawl across the sheets of ice, around the southern (116th St) and western (RR tracks) borders of the plant. And I noticed something interesting:
Someone had taken it upon themselves to plaster signs all up and down the fence line on 116th St. I thought this was humorous, as this is the part of the plant no one is interested in. It is not a good entrance or exit – I doubt anyone walks to this end of the plant, and certainly only a certifiable idiot like myself actually strolls up and down 116th St. But the someone is the CCLBA – The Cook County Land Bank Authority. When I investigated their website last winter, there was no listing for the plant. But today there is – but it isn’t 11236!
Best part is they uploaded a photo. I don’t know if they measured or what, this is very close to the property line (as 114th would run right through the south end of the coal bunker) looking south.
Hey – at least they are looking south! Interesting that the photo is dated 2019 but this listing couldn’t have gone live until 2022. The devil is in the details – take a closer look at the fine print at the bottom:
Listing Comments: OFFERS DUE BY SEPTEMBER 24 AT 5:00 PM, AWARD DATE SEPTEMBER 29TH BY 5:00 PM. CCLBA has acquired and owns this parcel. If you are interested in purchasing this parcel, click on the link in the upper-right corner of this page. Submit an “Initial Application”, this will grant you access and offer instructions. NOTE: You must submit an “Initial Application” before an “Offer Application.”
I registered on the website and submitted my ‘initial application’. As stated, this would allow me ‘access and offer instructions’. Well I don’t know that I can make any offers the $999,999 starting bid is a bit too rich for my blood. But access? The below is taken from the application which I digitally signed:
Prospective Purchaser, its counsel, accountants, agents and other representatives, shall have limited access to the Property, upon reasonable notice to and written approval by the Cook County Land Bank Authority (“CCLBA”). At times approved by CCLBA in writing, Prospective Purchaser and its agents and representatives shall have the right to enter upon the Property for any purpose related to this proposed transaction, including inspecting, surveying, and such other work as CCLBA approves (the “Inspections”), provided that CCLBA shall bear no expense in connection therewith. Prospective Purchaser shall promptly pay to repair any damage caused by Prospective Purchaser or Prospective Purchaser’s agent arising out of the Inspections.
If 11400 sells, what becomes of 11236? I have to think it will become secured, if not developed. No doubt even if there is a buyer in the next month, it will take some time before they can make any moves and with winter approaching I have to think any major work waits until spring. But maybe not? I’m sure the city has been trying to swing a deal for sometime – could this be it? We shall find out soon enough.