Editor's note: This article has been revised from an earlier edition to include property tax data for Thornton Township High School District 205 and Elementary School District 152.5, and to clarify that the country club property at issue in the case discussed in this article falls within those two school districts.
The owners of a struggling south suburban country club remain locked in a legal fight with the village of Homewood over whether they can move forward with plans to redevelop the site, under a plan developers say could add hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenue, potentially relieving some of the growing tax burden on homeowners.
A Cook County judge has been asked to decide the fate of the Calumet Country Club, and, specifically, the plans by the property’s owners to sell the land to a company that wishes to redevelop the site, potentially investing as much as $93 million.
David Sosin
| Sosin Arnold & Schoenbeck
Plans discussed publicly have included the potential for a 1 million square foot industrial park, which developers have said could bring as many as 800 new jobs from new distribution centers and other uses.
According to published reports, the potential developers, identified as Diversified Partners, reached a deal with a group known as CCC Investors, the owners of the country club, to purchase the 130-acre golf property in 2018.
At that time, the developers and property owners began talking with Homewood Village Hall about plans to redevelop the site, to bolster the site’s profitability and add to the tax base in the village and local school districts.
Such new commercial construction can relieve the property tax burden faced by homeowners.
In Homewood and other communities in south suburban Cook County, property taxes have skyrocketed.
Currently, in Homewood, residents pay a composite tax rate – representing taxes paid to school districts, the village and other local public bodies – of more than 16%.
According to data published by the Cook County Clerk, school districts serving Homewood, including the Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233, Thornton Township High School District 205, Elementary School District 153 and Elementary District 152.5, have driven those taxes ever higher.
From 2010-2018, for instance, tax bills paid by property owners in Districts 205 and 152.5 - the districts in which the Calumet Country Club land now lies - surged by nearly 72%, according to the County Clerk's data.
Tax bills paid by those in District 233 and District 153 also soared, by more than 64% during that same time.
School districts typically account for two-thirds or more of owners’ property tax bills.
However, the comparatively lesser tax rate charged by the village of Homewood itself has also surged, increasing by 53% from 2010 to 2018, according to county records. The village’s 2018 tax rate was $1.75 per $100 EAV.
At the same time, according to county records, the village’s total equalized assessed valuation – a measure of the total value of real estate within the village, for taxing purposes – increased by only about 10% from 2014 to 2018.
According to court records, the Calumet Country Club’s owners said they contributed only about $272,000 to the village in property taxes in 2018, or about 0.02% of the village’s total property tax collection that year.
In a report published by South Cook News, Diversified Partners CEO Walt Brown said the proposed development would generate $1.5 million in new property tax revenue each year.
Despite the continuously mounting tax bills in their community, Homewood village officials have moved to block Diversified Partners’ plans.
The country club’s owners have responded by suing, asking a judge to order the village to allow them to disconnect the country club from Homewood. According to published reports, the owners have approached neighboring Hazel Crest about annexing the site.
The firm of Sosin Arnold & Schoenbeck, of Orland Park, is representing the country club owners.
Attorney David Sosin said the country club owners and the village disagree over whether anything other Diversified Partners’ vision for the site is economically possible.
“When the property was marketed, the only interest we received was for the purposes the buyers are proposing,” Sosin said.
In the interview with South Cook News, Brown said his company approached numerous retailers, including IKEA, Target and Walmart, as well as restaurants and even Top Golf, a popular golf-related recreational chain, combing a driving range with a restaurant and bar. However, no one was interested in developing in Homewood.
In a statement emailed to the Cook County Record, Homewood Village Attorney Chris Cummings said: “The Village does not oppose redevelopment of the property, provided the development does not adversely impact Homewood residents.”
According to published reports, Hazel Crest has confirmed the developers approached them. However, the village has indicated it would remain neutral in the conflict between Homewood and the developers.
In the disconnection petition, filed last July, the country club owners say the disconnection wouldn’t harm Homewood, as the property is currently zoned for park use and contributes little to the community in any way.
Homewood has responded by asking the judge to dismiss the disconnection request.
Cummings said the village is opposing the disconnection “because the owner is not legally entitled to disconnect its property from the village.”
The parties have since last fall argued in court over various details of the disconnection petition, including whether the country club owners can provide a sufficient legal description of their property. The village asserts this would leave the court in the position of deciding the legal borders of Homewood and Hazel Crest.
The village also asserts the legal description of the would-be disconnected property would effectively cut off two parcels of land from the village, including a half-acre parcel and another measuring 807 square feet. Those parcels are not owned by the country club ownership group, and the owners have not requested disconnection, the village argues in its latest motion to dismiss.
Sosin said the country club owners believe their petition will ultimately prevail.
On March 30, the property owners moved to continue with discovery in the case, filing subpoenas in Cook County court. According to the subpoenas, she is seeking to question under oath various Homewood village officials, including Homewood’s Mayor Rich Hofeld; Village Manager Jim Marino; Public Works Director John Schaefer; and Economic and Community Development Director Angela Mesaros.
The deposition requests state the property owners seek to question on matters including “any and all information relating to the pending litigation” surrounding the country club.
Sosin said those depositions have not yet been conducted, and are being scheduled.
In the months the court fight began, economic circumstances in Illinois and elsewhere in the country have taken sharp turns down, amid government orders, such as those issued by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, shutting down large swaths of the economy, in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Those shutdowns have resulted in massive new unemployment claims, with more workers being added to the unemployment rolls by the day, amid layoffs, closures and furloughs, and imperiling economic conditions throughout the state, and particularly in already economically strained regions.
Sosin noted the COVID-19 crisis has also brought the legal system to a near standstill, as well, making it unclear when the judge presiding over the case will render a decision.
Sosin said, to his knowledge, there has been no discussions on a settlement to resolve the matter. Further, he said, those talks would need to be between the developers and the village, not the country club owners.
“We’re merely a seller here,” Sosin said, adding his clients are trying to sell the property to repay the funds they borrowed to purchase the country club out of foreclosure years ago.
Cummings did not reply to a question concerning the possibility of settlement.
Homewood Mayor Hofeld and Village Manager Marino did not reply to questions from The Cook County Record, referring inquiries to Cummings.