Real Estate & Property Law

Why Private Redevelopments Do Not Necessarily Work

By Alan Ackerman

 The law suit filed by an individual against the City of Philadelphia has an interesting ring to it. An individual bought property at a tax sale and intended to redevelop it. The community decides that another is better suited. Here, those favored by the community, successfully were able to present their desire for the development even though it meant the owner's loss of right to a property he had purchased.

Philadelphia Daily News

Sterling claims that the Crane Arts owners' close ties to public officials led the city to favor their project over his. An official from Crane Arts, which opened to rave reviews in 2005, sat on the board of a financing agency for the American Street Empowerment Zone with officials from the RDA and the City Planning Commission, the suit says.

The RDA has seized properties across the city after their developers sat on them for years. But Sterling, 49, said that he had moved quickly to build his masonry garage and school but encountered one permitting delay after another while dealing with the city.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on November 15, 2010 (boomark / email).