Joliet Officials Working With U.S. Steel Company On Future Redevelopment Of Former Steel Mills Site

Press release from the City of Joliet:

The City of Joliet is actively working with U.S. Steel to address the deteriorating condition of the Main Office Building at the former Joliet Steel Mill site. The building at 927 Collins Street is of major historical and architectural importance to Joliet. Built prior to 1891, the imposing building is a visual reminder of the City’s industrial heritage as the “City of Steel and Stone.” The building is an excellent example of the Neoclassical / Romanesque architectural style as applied to an industrial headquarters. The City of Joliet designated the building as a local historic landmark in August of 1998. The Main Office Building is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the 16-acre Joliet Steel Works National Register Historic District, which was designated in 1991.

The Main Office Building of the Joliet Steel Works site has been deteriorating due to a lack of maintenance since U.S. Steel closed its Joliet operations in 1983. The holes on the roof are the most visual testament of the building’s deterioration. City Planner Jayne Bernhard noted that “several members of the community, including members of the Collins Street Neighborhood Council, have recently reached out to notify us of the building’s deteriorating condition.”

U.S. Steel responded to the City’s request to perform an exterior property maintenance inspection in January 2021. The City then notified the company of exterior property maintenance violations after City staff completed its inspection on January 22, 2021. Discussions regarding stabilizing the building escalated after David Burritt, CEO of U.S. Steel, got involved. Bernhard explained that one of our long-serving Historic Preservation Commission members Sharon Merwin wrote a personal letter to the CEO, requesting his help. Sharon attended Morton High School in Morton, Illinois with him. She got an email from him acknowledging that he received the letter and indicating that U.S. Steel’s Real Estate Division would be in touch with her and City staff the next day. “The calls came in the next day.”

According to City Planner Jayne Bernhard, “U.S. Steel has verbally committed to replacing the roof and fixing the fascia, gutters and downspouts; however, they have yet to pull a building permit to perform this work.”

Today, Landmarks Illinois, the state’s leading historic preservation advocacy organization, announced that they have placed the Main Office Building of the former Joliet Steel Mill site on their 2021 Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois list. The purpose of placing the Main Office Building on the 2021 List is to encourage U.S. Steel to stabilize the building as well motivate the company to sell the building to a preservation-minded developer. Repurposing the Main Office Building would further efforts to promote continued economic development along the Collins Street Corridor by removing ongoing blight, trespassing and vandalism that has plagued these large, abandoned industrial properties since their closure. The Joliet Area Historical Museum submitted the nomination to Landmarks Illinois on behalf of its community partners which include the Collins Street Neighborhood Council, the Collins Street Task Force, and the City of Joliet.

The City’s Economic Development Director Derek Conley stated that “recent discussions about the Main Office Building have led to reengaging U.S. Steel about the future of the overall 57 acre site owned by the Company. These conversations have been very positive.” The City hopes that this mighty, iconic building has many, many more years as a community asset.

View photos here.

This press release was produced by the City of Joliet. The views expressed here are the author’s own.