Joliet Parking Deck Sale To John Bays Delayed To March

JOLIET, IL — Joliet businessman John Bays owns a lot of property in downtown Joliet. On Tuesday night, the Joliet City Council will vote whether to sell the city-owned Scott Street Parking Deck to Bays for $151,000.

The city of Joliet wants to get rid of the Scott Street parking deck because the parking deck is in need of more than $1 million in repairs and upgrades and the city doesn't have the funds to make the improvements, city manager Jim Capparelli told Patch.

He expects the proposed sale will pass at Tuesday's meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m.

At the meeting, the Council agreed to delay the vote to sell the parking garage to Bays for a month. The sale has been postponed until the March 16 City Council meeting.

By selling the downtown parking deck, Bays, not the taxpayers of Joliet, will be on the hook for the costly improvements to the concrete parking garage, the city manager said.

Bays will also be required to pay property taxes on the Scott Street deck after he takes ownership. Bays owns several buildings in downtown Joliet including: Two Rialto Square, Premier Building, Klines Building, Executive Centre, PNC Bank, and State of Illinois Building.

"Mr. Bays is interested in utilizing the deck as parking for his various office and future residential tenants in the downtown," city documents state.

Under the terms of the sale, Bays will pay Joliet $151,000 and "Mr. Bays realizes the vast amount of deterioration of the deck. Per the agreement Mr. Bays is committed to making the necessary repairs before June 1, 2022."

A total of 50 parking spaces will continue to be used for public parking even after the sale to Bays takes place, documents show. The public parking rates will remain the same as the city's Ottawa Street parking deck.

Additionally, 20 parking spaces in the Scott Street parking deck will be used for the people who live at the Louis Joliet Apartments across the street, the 60-unit apartment building owned by Mike Petry on Clinton Street.

Furthermore, Bays must agree to honor the city of Joliet's parking agreement that it has with MidCentral Enterprises, owner of the Auditorium Building.

"Mr. Bays agrees to accept all tangible and intangible assets used in the operation of the Scott Street Deck. This includes the Development Agreement (as it relates to parking)

"The Auditorium Building consists of 18 condos. The tenants of the condos are currently eligible for two free parking passes each," city memos indicated.

Joliet will still retain possession of the larger Ottawa Street Parking Deck closer to the new Will County Courthouse.

There are no plans to sell the Ottawa Street Park Deck, city officials told Patch.