Official Blog of the Castle Coalition

Although Minnesota passed eminent domain reform legislation in 2006, several projects that were already in progress were grandfathered into the law, making it possible for eminent domain to be used in those redevelopment projects. One of those projects is in Eagan, a suburb of St. Paul.

Last month, a Dakota County district judge ruled that Eagan would be able to use eminent domain for its Cedar Grove redevelopment.  The ruling mean that five businesses in the city American Accounts, Competition Engines, Larson’s Auto, Mediterranean Cruise Cafe, and U-Haul would be forced to sell to the city.

Since the ruling, Eagan has deposited money for the businesses relocation even though the city has not received the estimated values for the properties from court-ordered appraisers. Nevertheless, most of the businesses don’t want the city’s money.  Lawyers for three of the businesses went back to court to object to the city’s deposit. 

Jamal Ansari, the owner of Mediterranean Cruise Cafe has had it with Eagan officials–he’s moving out of the city and taking his popular business with him despite city officials’ supposed appreciation for his business:

“We do value his restaurant and have always considered him an asset,” said Tom Hedges, Eagan city administrator, adding that Eagan’s economic development director has spent a “tremendous amount of time” trying to relocate Ansari’s cafe. “We hope that he’ll stay,” Hedges said.

“That’s not going to happen,” said Ansari, who opened his restaurant 28 years ago after emigrating from Jerusalem.

“If we don’t feel welcome, why stay?” Ansari said in an interview at his cafe, acclaimed not only for ethnic cuisine but also as the metro’s biggest venue for belly-dancers. 

In fact, the mayor of neighboring Burnsville invited Ansari to set up shop next to that city’s new performing arts center. The plan for the restaurant calls for a larger space and the possibility for twice as many employees.

The contrast between officials’ words and their actions is pretty stark: We love your business so much, we condemned it.   I guess they were jealous.

It should be kept in mind, of course, that Eagan officials hope to increase its tax base and jobs with its new redevelopment.  They just lost a popular restaurant with 35 employees. Meanwhile, Burnsville just got a popular restaurant whose latest incarnation will no doubt increase the tax base and add jobs.  I guess things haven’t quite work out as planned.

Filed under: Minnesota by Chris Grodecki Date 8 May, 2008
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Although the papers didn’t do much coverage of Saturday’s rally to protest the increasingly precarious Atlantic Yards project, there are plenty of accounts and photos of the event on the web.

No Land Grab has a round-up.

Atlantic Yards Report has a great post with photos.

Develop Don’t Destrop Brooklyn has video.

Councilmember Letitia James summarized the goal of the protest when she spoke to the crowd: 

“I remain steadfast in my opposition to Atlantic Yards. The project has definitively proven itself to be a classic bait and switch. For this reason, the demolitions need to stop, the subsidies need to stop and eminent domain must be taken off the table. It’s time to stop blighting my district. I’m calling on Gov. Paterson to put a halt to the project. Then, my city and state colleagues and I, along with the Governor, can start over with a new plan to develop the rail yards that works for the people of Brooklyn.”

Meanwhile, the project’s developer, Bruce Ratner, now says that the project will not be completed for another decade. 

Filed under: New York> Grassroots organizations by Chris Grodecki Date 7 May, 2008
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The city of Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, wants to develop the former Lakeview Golf Course, but apparently the property in question isn’t enough for town officials.  Town officials, prodded by the developer who bought the golf course property, are weighing whether to include the property belonging to American Legion Post 373.

The Ralston Legion notified in late April that the city would hold a hearing to decide whether or not to designate its property blighted. Members of the Legion were suspicious, according to the Ralston Recorder:

“How can they include us in a study without telling us?” asked Post 373 Commander Benny Sievers. “That makes me doubt their sincerity on any other dealing we have with them.” 

Legionnaires showed up to a meeting an expressed their dismay politely.

“We don’t appreciate being deemed blighted, especially without someone telling us,” Ralston Legion finance officer Ron Deming told those assembled. “We don’t know why the city wants to designate us that way. We would prefer not being termed blighted.”

The developer, without telling the vets, the property would be eligible for seizure via eminent domain, reassured them only that it was a designation that would allow the developer to receive more funding for the development through tax increment financing, which include a big-box store and high-density residential buildings.

City officials, however, do seem to be sympathetic to the Legion’s concerns, while others seem to be somewhat condescending towards the group. But “blighting” the property still poses problems, as it would for any property owner:
“If they don’t want their building included, we’re not inclined to do that,” Krause said. “If we do or don’t include that building in the blighted area, it won’t make any difference as to what we want done with the property.”The Legion could encounter a problem in the future if it wanted to sell the building. In order for a buyer to qualify for tax-increment financing, the process of declaring the property blighted would have to be repeated.Still, the Legion is wary of the city and isn’t intending on backing down from getting answers until they are safe from the threat of eminent domain.

Still, the Legion is wary of the city and from getting answers until they are safe from the threat of eminent domain.Still, a cut-and-run attitude was not to be found at the veterans’ meeting. They all agreed that rolling over and complying with the request to stay on the blighted list was not something they could swallow. Deming said it would be like giving up and letting the building, which had served as the post’s home for more than 50 years, be taken away from them.
“Us give up?” Sievers said. “We’re not going to give up. That’s nuts.”  

The Ralston city council meeting on the blight designation will be held tonight.

Filed under: Nebraska by Chris Grodecki Date 6 May, 2008
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From Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn:  

MARK YOUR CALENDARS and Come on out…

Community Rally On Atlantic Yards Called For

May 3rd, 2 PM
752 Pacific Street
(near Carlton Avenue)
in the “footprint” of the proposed project.
Call a Time Out on the Atlantic Yards Bait and Switch:
A Community Rally to Tell Governor Paterson to Halt the Atlantic Yards Project

If you only go to one major Atlantic Yards rally…this is the one:

A major community rally will be held Saturday, May 3, 2pm at 752 Pacific Street. The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, Brooklyn Speaks, and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn will join with community leaders and elected officials in calling for a freeze on all Atlantic Yards activities. The three sponsoring organizations represent thousands of New Yorkers that have had differing perspectives on issues raised by the Atlantic Yards proposal, but all agree that the current state of affairs is intolerable.

The following elected officials have confirmed attendance: NYS Senator Velmanette Montgomery, NYS Assemblywoman Joan Millman, NYS Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, NYC Councilwoman Letitia James, NYC Councilman Bill Deblasio, NYC Councilman David Yassky, NYC Councilman Tony Avella.

DDDB has always maintained that Atlantic Yards is not a feasible project. Recent developments in the financial markets and statements by the developer have made that certain, and call the entire project and its purported public benefits into question. The only thing currently with a timeline is the arena and its luxury skyboxes and acres of demolished vacant lots. Meanwhile our neighborhoods are being blighted by unnecessary demolitions for a project that is now a big unknown.

DDDB’s position remains the same as it has from the beginning—the project is bad for many reasons from process to finance to design, and we oppose it. The project should be scrapped; it’s time for a new plan to develop the rail yards in a democratic, fair and responsible way with genuine community participation.

So come on out on May 3rd — bring your friends, join your neighbors, fellow New Yorkers, elected officials and community leaders in telling Governor Paterson:

> No More Demolitions!
> No More Eminent Domain!
> No More Subsidies!
> No More Changes to Infrastructure!

You can download a rally flier and handcard to distribute at: http://tinyurl.com/4uk8zx

Please email us to volunteer to distribute fliers for the rally, at: contact@dddb.net

Public transportation to the rally:

SUBWAY: [Map]:
2/3 to Bergen Street
B, D,M,N,R to Pacific Street
Q to 7th Avenue
C to Lafayette or Washington Avenues
2,3,4,5 to Atlantic Avenue

BUS:
65 On Dean Street going East, or Bergen Street Going West
45 on Atlantic Avenue

Filed under: New York> Grassroots organizations by Chris Grodecki Date 2 May, 2008
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We’ve posted before on the progress, or lack thereof, in the Fort Trumbull development, the one that triggered Kelo v. New London.  May 29 is the date New London preferred developer Corcoran Jennings is supposed to have financing to begin construction on the site. So far, there has been no building, none of that revitalization, no increased tax revenue–just dead, vacant land, aside from the transformation of naval building into office space.  The plan for new housing looks like it may never happen.

The Day reports:

If Corcoran Jennison doesn’t meet the deadline, the Boston-based developer would violate a December extension document in which it agreed to secure a loan and enter a construction contract for an $18.7 million, 80-unit development of rental apartments and townhouses.

The project, whose uncertain groundbreaking could now be delayed months if not years, would represent the first new, ground-up construction since eminent domain cleared portions of the peninsula for redevelopment.

Officials are looking at more “creative” options to help finance the project, including spending more taxpayer money in the form of government-backed loans.

The Day’s editorial board has had enough of Corcoran Jennings, however:

Corcoran Jennison would lose its preferred developer status to build the housing, a hotel and office space on the peninsula. The sticking point is the firm’s inability to secure financing for the $18.7-million housing project, despite the six-month extension.

Unfortunately, given the current state of the national economy, there are not likely to be many new suitors to seek the mantle of preferred developer. The aggravation surrounding the redevelopment of the Fort Trumbull property will continue, perhaps for a year or two. The project was mishandled at the start. And the acrimonious eminent domain battle, which took years to play out before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the NLDC’s favor in June 2005, has left ugly scars.

With the exception of the sidewalks, roadways, utilities and the renovation under way on the Naval Undersea Warfare Center building, there has been no new construction on the Fort Trumbull peninsula since the city commenced its controversial Municipal Development Plan for the neighborhood in 2000.

Filed under: Connecticut by Chris Grodecki Date 1 May, 2008
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Joy Ford and her husband established Country International Records in the 1970s and through their success were able to purchase a place for their business on Nashville’s Music Row in the 1980s. 

Now, however, this Nashville establishment is no longer good enough for the city’s Metro Development and Housing Agency because a Houston-based developer wants to build an office building next door and wants Ford’s property–not even for another building but for a parking lot.  As is usual in these cases, MDHA says it’s in negotiations with Ford and eminent domain is a final resort. As is also usual in these cases, MDHA’s “negotiations” come in the form of threatening letters. 

Joy Ford and her family have even told city officials they would reinvest in their property to make it blend in better with the surrounding development, but authorities want them gone. It’s a clear case of a local government deciding to kick out one private entity, in this case an historic music label, in order to make way for its chosen private party.

Yesterday, Chip Mellor and Scott Bullock went down to Nashville and paid a visit to Joy Ford to help bring some attention to her plight.  Local TV Stations WKRN and WSMV both covered the press conference at Country International Records.

Filed under: Tennessee> Travels by Chris Grodecki Date 30 April, 2008
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Prof. David Beito, chair of the Alabama State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and Prof. Ilya Somin have an article running in a few papers on the adverse impact of minority communities, specifically in southern states. Here’s an excerpt:

Few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain. Some 3 million to 4 million Americans, most of them ethnic minorities, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of urban-renewal takings since World War II.The fact is that eminent-domain abuse is a crucial constitutional-rights issue. On Tuesday, the Alabama Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will hold a public forum at Birmingham’s historic 16th Street Baptist church to address ongoing property seizures in the state. The church was not only a center of early civil-rights action, but also, tragically, where four school girls lost their lives in a bombing in 1963.Current eminent-domain horror stories in the South and elsewhere are not hard to find. At this writing, for example, the city of Clarksville, Tenn., is giving itself authority to seize more than 1,000 homes, businesses and churches and then resell much of the land to developers. Many who reside there are black, live on fixed incomes, and own well-maintained Victorian homes. At a City Council meeting earlier this month that overflowed with protesters from the neighborhood, local resident Virginia Hatcher charged that that the threat of forcing “people from their homesteads of many years” through “underhanded political manipulation” was not only “un-Christian” but had created a climate of fear.

For additional data and information on the prevalence of eminent domain in minority communities, check out Eminent Domain & African Americans by Dr. Mindy Fullilove and Victimizing the Vulnerable, both IJ publications.

Filed under: Post-Kelo Reform by Chris Grodecki Date 29 April, 2008
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California: The San Diego Union-Tribune has a lengthy article on the proposed expansion of the redevelopment area in Vista–it looks like the city might be in the business of creating blight to give itself an excuse for redevelopment, too.

New Jersey:

• More on the dropped redevelopment plans in Westville…the Courier-Post reports that the developer could no longer afford to build the necessary infrastructure for the project and blames the economy and the housing market, while the Gloucester County Times describes life in a redevelopment zone constantly under threat of eminent domain.  On Monday, the Courier-Post came out with a strongly-worded editorial stating, “Eminent domain must be taken off the table.”
• There’s a good letter to the editor in today’s Asbury Park Press on the need to ban eminent domain in nearby Neptune.
• In Newton, the political fight over eminent domain moves forward; most recently, the city has been claiming it couldn’t enforce an ordinance that would take eminent domain off the table. Such a claim is false.

Missouri: For Arnold dentist Homer Tourkakis, it’s a matter of when, not if the city uses eminent domain.

Illinois: Medill Reports, a publication of Northwestern University, has a story about residents living around Washington Park in Chicago, where the city’s proposed plans for the 2016 Olympics would place a temporary stadium and other venues where houses and businesses now stand.

Filed under: New Jersey> Illinois> California> Missouri by Chris Grodecki Date 16 April, 2008
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Yesterday, the 10 largest businesses and land owners in Willets Point, Queens, filed a suit against the City of New York and Mayor Bloomberg:

…seeking a court order requiring the City to provide basic vital infrastructure including repairs to streets and storm sewers, installation of sanitary sewers, street lights, street signs and other services that the City has withheld for over 40 years. 

Check out their press release.

For over four decades, the businesses have begged the city to provide them with the basic municipal services their tax dollars were already paying for.  Despite the poor condition of the area, the entrepreneurs have thrived in the only “heavy industrial” area left in the city. 

Q: Why would a city purposefully neglect a prime real estate area and intentionally create blight?

A: The city has wanted to redevelop the 60 acres with new retail/condos/hotels/office space for years.  But buying out over 200 businesses who have nowhere to relocate to could prove a little difficult.   

“Ah ha! If we make Willets Point such an eyesore that everyone wants it gone, the businesses will be easy to condemn!”

The only thing we want gone are those potholes.

Read more in the New York Times.

Filed under: New York> Court Cases by Christina Walsh Date 10 April, 2008
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Fieldstone Associates has withdrawn as the developer of a luxury condo and retail development in Westville, N.J., which was planned for land it didn’t own - pretty par for the course in New Jersey.

Over two dozen waterfront properties would have been condemned had this project gone forward.  And one business in particular can be thanked for that:  Grabbes Seafood, an award-winning, third-generation landmark restaurant.  Owner Dolores Achilles and her son, Al, have fought for years to stop this landgrab.  After attending our regional and national conferences, the Achilleses cooked up a very creative way to draw attention to this abuse of power:  the Eminent Domain Abuse Menu, featuring Crab “Seizure” Salad with “Our House Dressing” (their home abuts the restaurant) and the Grab Cake Sandwich with Lost Freedom Fries.

As the city revisits its redevelopment goals, maybe they can tap into the Achilleses’ creativity and love for Westville instead of aligning against them with out-of-town developers. 

Filed under: New Jersey> Success Stories by Christina Walsh Date 10 April, 2008
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