Selling City-Owned Land

Selling City-Owned Land: The City actively manages its property portfolio and makes City-owned real
estate available for purchase and redevelopment through a number of programs.

Background
The City provides public information concerning the Citys real estate inventory based on the Citys land
inventory system (LIS) database.1 The LIS includes the tax parcel identification number, ward, street
address, zip code and lot dimension information. City-owned land is sold primarily through negotiated
sales, the Adjacent Neighbors Land Acquisition Program (ANLAP), broker sales, sealed bids, and the Large
Lot Program all of which are described in greater detail below. All land sales, marketing, and related
programs are managed by the Department of Planning and Development. City Council approval is
required for any sale of City-owned land.

Negotiated Sale
Any entity or individual may qualify to purchase City property by negotiated sale. Negotiated sales can
be completed to expand the Citys open space inventory through the sale or transfer of City-owned land
to community-managed land trusts or for the redevelopment of City-designated redevelopment project
areas. The value of the property is established by a market value appraisal prepared by an independent
appraiser hired and compensated by the City. All property purchased via negotiated sale requires a good
faith deposit, detailed project budget, and a letter of support from the local alderman.

Adjacent Neighbors Land Acquisition Program (ANLAP)

ANLAP allows homeowners within the City of Chicago to purchase vacant City-owned lots for less than
market value if the purchaser owns one parcel, or two or more contiguous parcels, of real property that
is immediately adjacent to a City-owned parcel and at least one of the parcels is an improved parcel
which the person occupies as a primary residence. The purchase price is dependent on the appraised fair
market value (FMV), and the FMV of the ANLAP parcel must not exceed $50,000. The application fee is a
non-refundable $150.00 with a 10% good faith deposit. A buyer can only purchase one parcel via ANLAP
and cannot sell the ANLAP parcel separate from the adjacent property. Additionally, the ANLAP parcel
must be improved within six months of conveyance. Improvements to the ANLAP parcel are limited to a
garage, integrated home addition to adjacent property, and/or landscaping, with the restrictions expiring
ten years after the day of conveyance. A letter of support from the alderman is required for all
purchases.

Broker Sales
From time to time the City engages third party brokers to facilitate the sale of City-owned property.
The City often reviews its portfolio and identifies high-value properties where a brokers efforts will
garner a price higher than the appraised value. These are properties that the City does not have specific
open space, public space, or development goals for and ones where City assistance is not needed to
make a project viable. A broker is selected from a task order request sent to all qualified broker
vendors. The broker markets the property, and the City places an official 30-day public notice in the Sun-
Times. After a final round of bidding, the City presents the alderman with the highest bidder and asks
for a letter of support.

1
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/city-owned_land_inventory.html
 Sealed Bid
The City directs applicants to the sealed bid process when the applicant does not own property near the
City parcel and desires to develop it. This is for small, market rate projects that do not require any City
assistance and are too small to warrant a full redevelopment agreement. To initiate the sealed bid
process, the applicant is directed to meet with the affected alderman to describe their project, their
experience and financial capacity. The property is listed in the Sun-Times with a minimum bid equal to
the appraised value. After 30 days the bids are opened and the winning bidder is directed to secure the
aldermans support of the sale.

Large Lot Program

The Large Lot Program allows the City of Chicago to transfer City-owned lots in the Green Healthy
Neighborhoods Planning Area, a 13-square-mile area in the South and West sides that has been
characterized by disinvestment and population loss, to neighbors or nonprofits who own property on the
block for $1, adding up to two lots to their existing property. Applicants must own property on the same
block as the lot they would like to purchase. Residents can submit applications via the Large Lot website
(https://largelots.org).

Revenue Impact
The chart below shows statistics for each type of sale of City-owned land
2015 2016 2017 (through August)

ANLAP 28 $46,751 45 $61,826 22 $38,440

Broker Sale 0 $0 1 $37,610 0 0$
Dollar Sales 9 $358 2 $39 0 0$
NEG Sale Open Space / Parking 32 $712,776 28 $422,450 34 $659,600
RDA Sale 19 $831,796 27 $8,516,878 9 $3,704,707
Sealed Bid 4 $242,402 10 $580,646 5 $140,700
Brokerage Deal 6 $1,664,775 0 $0 0 $0
TOTAL 98 $3,498,858 113 $9,619,449 72 $4,543,448

Legal Authority
Sections 2-158 and 2-159 of the Municipal Code set forth the procedures for the sale of surplus City-
owned land and the Adjacent Neighbors Land Acquisition Program.
City Owned Land Inventory by Ward
2

Ward Count 38 2
1 19 39 9
2 6 42 18
3 1038 43 5
4 472 45 8
5 170 46 4
6 647 47 24
7 167 48 2
8 193 49 10
9 581 50 5
10 925 (blank) 4
11 82 Grand Total 12,986
12 39
13 10 2017 Land / Building Sales
14 21 Ward Count
15 357 3 5
16 1451 4 1
5 1
17 411
6 1
18 31
9 1
19 34
10 3
20 1938
11 1
21 204
14 1
22 41
16 9
23 7 17 2
24 1216 19 1
25 33 20 9
26 37 23 1
27 663 24 5
28 994 25 1
29 87 26 1
30 11 27 10
31 1 28 13
32 13 29 1
33 1 36 1
34 643 37 2
35 16 42 2
36 5
37 331

2
Sourced from City of Chicago Data Portal (9/2017):
https://data.cityofchicago.org/Community-
Economic-Development/City-Owned-Land-
Inventory/aksk-kvfp