Politics & Government

Ice Age Ends: Say Good-Bye to Tinley Ice

Calling it an "eyesore," the village board on Tuesday put the final nails in the coffin for the vacant building by the downtown Metra station.

There are 96 days left for the jazz-playing penguins and empty truck bay of Tinley Ice.

"It's time for it to go away," village Trustee Dave Seaman said, calling the ice house an "eyesore."

The downtown structure where ice was made and packaged for sale will, along with a boarded-up home down the road, be coming down within 90 days of when the village and the owners execute a deal that will reimburse Tinley for tearing the buildings down.

Find out what's happening in Tinley Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The village board approved the deal Tuesday night and it's expected to be executed Feb. 22, Village Manager Scott Niehaus said. That gives the old ice house at 6742 North St. and the vacant home at 6712 North St. fewer than 100 days.

Although Seaman called the move "an attempt to clean that area up," the ice house is also the largest building in the footprint of .

Find out what's happening in Tinley Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under the demolition agreement, the village will pay $107,000 for the demolition of both the ice house and the vacant home, with a lien placed on the properties to ensure the village gets repaid.

Seaman said the ice house land will be seeded with grass and maintained by the village to be used for downtown events, such as overflow from Movies in the Plaza.

will get 72 hours advance notice of the demolition so they can photograph and document the buildings' interiors, Niehaus said.

The only stay of execution for the buildings could be if the county permits take longer than 90 days to process, Niehaus said. If that happens, the contractor must tear down the buildings within 30 days of the permits getting approved, he said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here