LaSalle County board sells long-vacant Enchanted Forest property in Utica to local bidder

LaSalle County Board voted Nov. 3 to sell the long-vacant Enchanted Forest (also called the Gramma Bear) commercial property in Utica to local bidder Mike Bird for $20,000.

County staff said the property had been off the tax rolls for more than a decade after a bankruptcy tied to the prior operator, and that the parcel had accumulated many years of unpaid taxes and interest. County staff told the board the assessed value from when the facility was last in active use was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that the districts outstanding real-estate taxes alone totaled roughly $471,000 (interest and court costs had driven a larger historic total). The countys packet showed five bidders; county staff said only two bids complied with the surplus-sale addendum that described acceptable uses consistent with Utica zoning. The board opted to award the property to the bidder whose plan most closely matched Uticas permitted uses.

Village President David Stewart of Utica told the board the property has been "sitting there desolate for the last at least 13 years" and urged a use that would create tourism, overnight lodging and new sales- and hotel-tax receipts for the village and county. He noted vandalism, boarded-up doors and safety risks at the vacant building and said a timely redevelopment would reduce liability and bring revenue to multiple taxing bodies.

County staff summarized the four or five competing proposals in the board packet: a storage/boat-winterization business, an entertainment/amusement center (described in the packet as a fishing-rodeo/birthday-party concept), and a sports-complex proposal intended to host indoor pickleball and volleyball tournaments. Staff told the board that because the property is large and is subject to Uticas PUD/planned development and zoning rules, several of the higher-dollar bids did not match the parcels allowable uses.

Board members pressed staff on the sale process and legal constraints: the property came to the county via the tax-sale/trustee process after years of bankruptcy, and once added to the countys surplus-auction book it can be sold "sight unseen"; the county may choose a bidder that best serves taxing-body interests rather than strictly taking the highest dollar. County staff and legal counsel confirmed the county could accept a lower bid if it better met long-term goals for the property.

A motion to sell to Mike Bird was moved and seconded on the floor; the board called the question and the motion carried. The county clerk recorded the voice vote as the motion carried.

The board and Utica officials said they expect the buyer to invest in the building and return it to the tax rolls; the transcript records county staff and board members emphasizing that past taxes cannot be recovered once a sale occurs and that the purchaser takes the property "as-is." The purchasers plan and capital commitments were described in the packet but were not incorporated as a contract provision in the surplus-sale approval.

The board directed staff to complete closing steps with the selected bidder and noted that any change to the parcels use will require the purchaser to secure zoning approvals from the village of Utica.

Provenance: Transcript discussion begins at 00:42:18 and the final motion/vote appears at 01:20:23 in the Nov. 3 meeting transcript.