City takes Portage Theater to court, as site’s future remains unclear  

by BRIAN NADIG

Not long after Landmarks Illinois placed the Portage Theater, 4054 N. Milwaukee Ave., on its endangered historic places list for 2024, the city of Chicago took the theater’s ownership to court over alleged building code violations.

In addition, the county sold the property’s 2021 unpaid taxes to a third party, and its 2022 and 2023 property tax bills, totaling nearly $300,000, for the 104-year-old theater are delinquent, according to the county.

“Today, the Portage Theater suffers from deferred maintenance after years of disinvestment and vacancy. After 80 years of operation, the theater closed in 2001. It was rehabilitated and reopened in 2006, operating successfully for six years.

“Since 2012, the theater has opened sporadically but has been officially shuttered since 2018, the same year that it was acquired by the current owner. The owner has shown an interest in improving the theater and has applied for several grants to help fund necessary work, but none have been successful. The long-term vision and plan for the local landmark remain unclear,” Landmarks Illinois posted on its Web site.

In a lawsuit filed on July 12, the city is seeking to have the ownership maintain the fire escape “the same as the original construction” and  to provide copies of a structural condition report on the building from a license architect or structural engineer. 

The lawsuit also alleges the exterior walls have not been maintained “free from holes, breaks, loose or rotting board or timbers and any other conditions which might admit rain or dampness to the walls.”

The lawsuit also states that city inspectors found “substantial masonry repairs in progress on this landmarks building with no drawings or permit on file.” The theater is a designated Chicago landmark.

A court hearing on the case is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 1.

A summons was issued to Avra Properties LLC and Portage Theater LLC. Landmarks Illinois lists the theater’s owner as Manuel Gliksberg.

The city also took legal action against the theater in 2021 over building code issues.

Meanwhile, the Cook County Treasurer’s office has sold the theater’s unpaid 2021 property taxes to Phoenix Bond and Indemnity Company. Its 2018 taxes also were sold, while its 2019 and 2020 tax bills were paid, according to the county. 

Eventually the buyer of the taxes can seek to take possession of the property, but more than 90 percent of time the owner redeems the taxes by paying for them plus interest to the buyer.

Tax sales give owners additional time to pay their taxes without immediately losing their property, and for the buyer it is usually a low-risk investment due to loopholes in the county law that only recently were tightened.

Tax buyers, who usually have little desire in ever acquiring the property, make their money on the interest they charge the owner, according to county officials.

In those cases in which the owner does not buy back the taxes, the investor can claim a “sale-in-error” and in essence get a refund from the county, which also may have to pay the buyer interest.

“Frivolous” mistakes in the description of a property can lead to tax buyers getting their money back, according to Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas. Those mistakes have included listing a house as being made of stucco when it was brick or a home not having air conditioning when it did.

A treasurer’s office study prompted Illinois lawmakers to overhaul the sale-in-error statute, closing loopholes and making the system more equitable, Pappas said in a statement. It also made recommendations — many adopted — to various county agencies to reduce costly government mistakes, she added.

The new state law would not impact Phoenix’ opportunity to seek a sale-in-error since the law is not retroactive. In addition, the law does not prevent all “refunds,” as a lien on a property — for example — could lead to a buyer being paid back from the county.

In 2023, police broke up a rave party at the theater, which reportedly was hosted by a company that holds events in “abandoned“ buildings.

A theater spokesperson said that it did not grant use of the theater for the party and that police should have arrested event organizers for trespassing. Citations were issued to a company that helped run the event.

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