The Flossmoor Village Board on Feb. 18 approved a resolution updating the village’s proposal for Cook County’s No Cash Bid program requesting ownership of six parcels of tax-delinquent property.
The village is working with attorney Scott Dillner to acquire the roughly 7-acre area of land between Governors Highway and Kedzie Avenue. The property is adjacent to the Center for Dental Excellence and Sunrise Senior Living.
Village Manager Bridget Wachtel said Dillner advised staff that ownership of the parcels extends to the centerline of Kedzie, which is a county road despite the fact that it was never dedicated.
The village has been asked to update the resolution passed in November to reflect this and agree to dedicate the street’s right-of-way back to the county once it gains the property.
The board unanimously approved the changes.
Wachtel said developers have proposed uses for the space in the past, such as apartment buildings, but plans have not made it through to board approval because of the difficulties of building on land that is partially floodplain.
“We thought these (parcels) would be strategic to pick up so that we could be in control of anything that could be buildable there,” she said.
Mayor Paul Braun said the village would like to encourage quality commercial developments on the buildable parcels and find other potential uses for the remaining space.
“I can’t see why we wouldn’t pick these properties up at this point,” he said. “They have been relatively unproductive.”
The No Cash Bid program allows municipalities to take ownership of tax-delinquent property without bidding for it, and the county will forgive the unpaid taxes with the expectation that the property will result in future tax dollars once developed.
Braun said it could be a one- to two-year process for the village to officially take ownership of the land, depending on the county’s legal process.