The house is small on a very tiny lot that is no longer a residential area. All has been converted to commercial except his little spot. 100 years ago, his brick home was in the middle of farmland and fields. No longer. His home fronts and sides to busy rush hour traffic and highrise commercial buildings. Whatever it was 50 years ago when he bought it is gone. Most people would have sold and gotten out long ago.
The whole piece of ground (the lot) is only 4,067 Square Feet total. The old house and decrepit outbuildings is just 1,277 sq. ft.
A couple of rundown places adjacent to him that were sold and are in the process of being torn down, with the lots cleared and turned into parking lot. He doesn't even have a paved driveway. The Zillow estimate for the house and tiny lot in its condition is $140,000, which is very low for Phoenix.
The offer of $850,000 for this tiny spot is EXTREMELY GENEROUS. The old man should be thanking his lucky stars they are willing to give him that amount. He could buy a much nicer and larger place with his profits. Sheesh. Take a look:
While he is being a dumbass, for that small of a lot I'm sure they can build around it and acquire it after he is dead. No way that small of a space ruins the entire plan.
You're ignoring the historical aspect of it. Last house of its kind. Already officially designated an historical property. The main house looks to be in pretty good shape and could be turned into a museum of the history of the area.
Eminent domain should not be allowed for situations like this. It should be for government only (not corporations like ASU) and only for greater public good like roads. Building a university campus should not involve eminent domain!!
Just because something is old, doesn't mean we have to make a big deal over it. Interestingly, the owner hasn't lived there in a very long time. Reports confirm that the building has been rented out to a man named Schwartz for at least the last 8 years.
According to one article, Schwartz created a sort of museum inside the house, displaying photos and other archival material of historical Phoenix. He even built a coffee bar in the house that he opened to the public during recent 'First Fridays'.
He called it 'The Emerson Espresso Preservation Lounge'. But the business is now listed as 'temporarily closed'. The owner of the property would have had to be on board with the use of his home as a commercial business or coffee shop. There would have been health code compliance and variances obtained and zoning changes petitioned and approved. Maybe the Schwartz fellow is a relative of the owner. Who knows.
And, according to the news article, Mr. Young (the owner) lived there in the 1970s - 1990s. Nowhere does it say he lived there after that! Perhaps this whole cry of 'they are taking my home!' is a ruse to get more $$$ out of ASU.
Mr. Young can't claim victimhood over his primary residence being condemned, when it is not where he lives and is actually a rental property that has a tenant in it.
And there's this: Young said ASU bumped its offer to $999,000, but Young refused because ASU wouldn’t pay for relocating the house, which Young said would cost between $2 million and $3 million. [Now that's just ridiculous!]
HERE ARE THE TRUE DETAILS:
The house is small on a very tiny lot that is no longer a residential area. All has been converted to commercial except his little spot. 100 years ago, his brick home was in the middle of farmland and fields. No longer. His home fronts and sides to busy rush hour traffic and highrise commercial buildings. Whatever it was 50 years ago when he bought it is gone. Most people would have sold and gotten out long ago.
The whole piece of ground (the lot) is only 4,067 Square Feet total. The old house and decrepit outbuildings is just 1,277 sq. ft.
A couple of rundown places adjacent to him that were sold and are in the process of being torn down, with the lots cleared and turned into parking lot. He doesn't even have a paved driveway. The Zillow estimate for the house and tiny lot in its condition is $140,000, which is very low for Phoenix.
The offer of $850,000 for this tiny spot is EXTREMELY GENEROUS. The old man should be thanking his lucky stars they are willing to give him that amount. He could buy a much nicer and larger place with his profits. Sheesh. Take a look:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/623-N-4th-St-Phoenix-AZ-85004/7522336_zpid/
While he is being a dumbass, for that small of a lot I'm sure they can build around it and acquire it after he is dead. No way that small of a space ruins the entire plan.
Look at the map. It certainly does.
You're ignoring the historical aspect of it. Last house of its kind. Already officially designated an historical property. The main house looks to be in pretty good shape and could be turned into a museum of the history of the area.
Eminent domain should not be allowed for situations like this. It should be for government only (not corporations like ASU) and only for greater public good like roads. Building a university campus should not involve eminent domain!!
Just because something is old, doesn't mean we have to make a big deal over it. Interestingly, the owner hasn't lived there in a very long time. Reports confirm that the building has been rented out to a man named Schwartz for at least the last 8 years.
According to one article, Schwartz created a sort of museum inside the house, displaying photos and other archival material of historical Phoenix. He even built a coffee bar in the house that he opened to the public during recent 'First Fridays'.
He called it 'The Emerson Espresso Preservation Lounge'. But the business is now listed as 'temporarily closed'. The owner of the property would have had to be on board with the use of his home as a commercial business or coffee shop. There would have been health code compliance and variances obtained and zoning changes petitioned and approved. Maybe the Schwartz fellow is a relative of the owner. Who knows.
And, according to the news article, Mr. Young (the owner) lived there in the 1970s - 1990s. Nowhere does it say he lived there after that! Perhaps this whole cry of 'they are taking my home!' is a ruse to get more $$$ out of ASU.
Mr. Young can't claim victimhood over his primary residence being condemned, when it is not where he lives and is actually a rental property that has a tenant in it.
And there's this: Young said ASU bumped its offer to $999,000, but Young refused because ASU wouldn’t pay for relocating the house, which Young said would cost between $2 million and $3 million. [Now that's just ridiculous!]
See this:
https://www.facebook.com/p/The-Emerson-Espresso-Preservation-Lounge-100086227214958/
https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/asu-moves-seize-raze-historic-phoenix-home-medical-school-40673272/