§ 10-705 — Keystone property

(a) For the purposes of this Section: "Base year" means the last tax year prior to the date of the application during which the property was occupied and assessed and taxes were collected. "Tax year" means the calendar year for which assessed value is determined as of January 1 of that year. "Keystone property" means property that has had a distinguished past and is a prominent property in the Village of Park Forest, a home rule municipality in both Cook and Will Counties, but is not of historical significance or landmark status and meets the following criteria: (1) the property contains an existing industrial structure consisting of more than 100,000 square feet; (2) the property is located on a lot, parcel, or tract of land that is more than 5 acres in area; (3) the industrial structure was originally built more than 30 years prior to the date of the application; (4) the property has been vacant for a period of more than 5 consecutive years immediately prior to the date of the application; and (5) the property is not located in a tax increment financing district as of the date of the application. (b) Within one year from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, owners of real property may apply with the municipality in which the property is located to have the property designated as keystone property. If the property meets the criteria for keystone property set forth in subsection (a), then the corporate authorities of the municipality have one year from the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly within which they may certify the property as keystone property for the purposes of promoting rehabilitation of vacant property and fostering job creation in the fields of manufacturing and research and development. The certification shall be transmitted to the chief county assessment officer as soon as possible after the property is certified. (c) Beginning with the first tax year after the property is certified as keystone property and continuing through the twelfth tax year after the property is certified as keystone property, for the purpose of taxation under this Code, the property shall be valued at 33 1/3% of the fair cash value of the land, without regard to buildings, structures, improvements, and other permanent fixtures located on the property. For the first 3 tax years after the property is certified as keystone property, the aggregate tax liability for the property shall be no greater than $75,000. That aggregate tax liability, once collected, shall be distributed to the taxing districts in which the property is located according to each taxing district's proportionate share of that aggregate liability. Beginning with the fourth tax year after the property is certified as keystone property and continuing through the twelfth tax year after the property is certified as keystone property, the property's tax liability for each taxing district in which the property is located shall be increased over the tax liability for the preceding year by the percentage increase, if any, in the total equalized assessed value of all property in the taxing district. No later than March 1 of each year before taxes are extended for the prior tax year, the Village of Park Forest shall certify to the county clerk of the county in which the property is located a percentage reduction to be applied to property taxes to limit the aggregate tax liability on keystone property in accordance with this Section.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-510, eff. 9-15-17.)