The convoluted process to get the Tip of the Trail property on the Cook County tax rolls continued on Tuesday, August 11 when Assessor Betty Schulz brought forward an appraisal for the end of the Gunflint Trail parcel. The property, appraised by John M. Vigen, SRA of Ramsland & Vigen, Inc., was found to be worth $335,000 and that will be the minimum bid allowed.
The former resort property was managed by the U.S. Forest Service as a leased lot until the county took possession in a land exchange in 1996. A 2006 contract for deed purchase ended with the county taking the land back because of a lengthy title dispute. The property was again sold under contract for deed in 2013, with the purchaser making an original $35,000 down payment. However that sale was invalidated when the purchaser defaulted in 2014.
Through the years the property had been zoned as both resort commercial residential (RC/R) and most recently lakeshore residential (LSR). In June 2015, the county, following a recommendation from the Cook County Planning Commission, rezoned the 4 ½-acre parcel as RC/R.
At that June meeting, Zoning Administrator Bill Lane said the planning commission believed that having the broader definition would make it easier for the county to sell the property. “It’s the widest net,” said Lane, for what he dubbed a “conflicted property.”
In June 2015, the county estimated the value of the property at $476,000.
After some discussion on Tuesday, August 11, the county board directed Schultz to offer the property through an auction, with a deadline of 10 a.m. on October 8 to receive final bids. Schultz said she will make the property available on-line to be viewed through a link on the county’s website in the near future.
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