Sports Publishing Company's old property being put up for auction.

CHAMPAIGN -- The former Sports Publishing building on North Neil Street is one of 10 properties across Illinois and Indiana to be auctioned off Nov. 4 in Lisle.

The Chartwell Group, based in Park Ridge, plans to auction the properties at 2 p.m. that day at the Hilton Hotel in Lisle.

A minimum bid of $750,000 has been set for the Sports Publishing building, said Bud Blinick, vice president of the Chartwell Group. He said he knows of only a few parties interested in the 39,200-square-foot building.

"I wouldn't say there's a whole lot of interest at this time. There have been a couple parties expressing interest," he said.

The auction has been advertised in The News-Gazette, and brochures have been mailed to businesses in the area, Blinick said.

"We figured the logical buyer was coming from the Champaign-Urbana market," he said. But the company has also advertised the auction in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Also being auctioned that day are properties in Princeton, Utica, Dixon, Machesney Park, Rockford, Oak Park, Elgin and Aurora, as well as Hammond, Ind.

Sports Publishing issued more than 800 sports titles during its decade or so in business and at one time employed more than 50 people in Champaign. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2008.

Blinick said the Champaign property, at 802-804 N. Neil St., is in foreclosure and is part of a portfolio of properties Chartwell is selling for Rockford-based AMCORE Bank.

Prospective bidders can view the property from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, Oct. 22 and Oct. 29. Blinick said he and the property manager will be there to show the building and documents pertinent to the sale.

"The seller guarantees that as long as there's a bid of $750,000, the property will be sold," he said, adding that an appraisal produced a value more than double the minimum bid.

"If we get a bid a little lower than the minimum, the seller has rights to consider it and has a couple days to accept or reject it," Blinick said.

If the property doesn't sell at auction, the bank will probably keep it on the market, he added.

Prospective bidders for the Sports Publishing property must bring a $40,000 cashier's check to the auction. Buyers who pay cash will receive a 5 percent discount on the high-bid price at closing.

A release from the Chartwell Group described the Sports Publishing building as having 21,300 square feet of office space and 17,900 square feet of warehouse space. The property also includes a 24,800-square-foot parcel that could be developed in the future.

The release said the building was renovated in 2003 and the roof was partially replaced and sealed this year. The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems were also replaced, and tuck-pointing was done.

Source Citation
"Sports Publishing Company's old property being put up for auction." America's Intelligence Wire 16 Oct. 2009. Popular Magazines. Web. 30 Oct. 2009. .