Been there and done that
What litigation?
The DeVries Company acquired 38 Front Street in 1997 for approximately $850,000. In 2001-02, DeVries filed suit against the Michigan Department of Transportation, claiming that the S-Curve reconstruction had moved the highway so close to the building that it was now unusable as a multi-purpose facility. In 2002, a Kent County Circuit Court jury agreed with Mr. DeVries and awarded the company $578,000 in compensation for the diminished value of his building. At trial, it was determined that the building and property had been worth $2.3 million but were now worth $1.732 million.
What is the property worth today?
2009 State Equalized Value for taxation purposes is $751,000 (one-half of $1,502,600).
Grand Valley has offered to purchase the site for $2.3 million, based on a recent third-party appraisal.
Here we go again. A local paper is attempting to abort a fair trial for a property owner in the name of the “public good”. The writer should know that tax assessments are not admissible and frequently totally unrelated to value in eminent domain proceedings. Local papers should spend more time looking at public officials conduct instead of attacking owners simply in the way of the proposed project.
