Judge orders sale of Amerock building

By Nate Legue

BusinessRockford.com

A defunct factory viewed as crucial to downtown redevelopment efforts will likely have a new owner within the next few months.

A bankruptcy judge agreed Wednesday to let owner Mathis Properties LLC to move forward with a $710,000 sale of the Amerock Building to a group of investors, but acquiesced to allow the mortgage-holding bank to foreclose if the deal falls through.

Mathis Properties plans to close on a sale Sept. 12 with 3 B’s Properties LLC, which has an Elgin address, according to a real estate contract filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The deal is contingent on the buyer securing a mortgage by Aug. 8 and gaining city tax-increment financing.

In November 2007, Mathis Properties sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just as Associated Bank was about to foreclose on the property. In January, attorneys for the bankrupt developer won a legal battle that prevented the bank from selling the property at auction — but that stay ran out last month.

The developer still owes Associated Bank about $450,000 and architecture firm Hynes Associates another $140,000, according to court documents. Mathis Properties bought the Amerock Building for $700,000 in 2005. Since Newell-Rubbermaid sold the 12-story building in 1998, five developers have announced plans to turn it into a mix of condos, apartments and retail space, but none of the projects materialized.

The Amerock Building was originally built in 1915 by Ziock Knitting Co. Amerock began operating on the top floor in 1928 and eventually took over the entire factory before moving into its Auburn Street plant in 1956.

Staff writer Nate Legue may be reached at 815-987-1346 or nlegue@rrstar.com.

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