Eminent Domain -- they're going to ruin my life!!

[montessori]

I'm going to talk to a lawyer friend of mine today but I feel the need to vent right now, and what better place than on the Dis?

I found out Friday afternoon that the city we live in is going to try to exercise "Eminent Domain" and buy the building my preschool/kindergarten has been in for 18 years!
They want to buy 7 buildings, the entire block, and build a new library there.
The building we lease is at the very end of the block, I don't see why it needs to be included but it is.
This is going to be one HUGE library I guess!
We went through A LOT of blood, sweat, and tears, making that building a school...and dealing with the city code enforcers was the biggest nightmare of the whole process.
My mother is my partner, she is 74 years young. Our school is her LIFE and her only source of income.
It is almost impossible to find a building that can be remodeled into a preschool. We need to stay within a certain area to keep the students we have. The building needs to be business zoned, have lots of bathrooms, have a playground, and a parking lot.
It cost us a lot of money to do all that to the building we lease now.
Real estate prices have gone through the roof around here, we could never afford to buy a building, we will have to lease again, IF we could find the right place, which I don't think we can!
We also can't close the school for a while while working on the other school, we need to be in one school one day, and the new school the next.
How can we pay rent on 2 buildings, while we put money into fixing up the new building??
We don't have the funds to do any of this and I don't think we can find a new building around here anyway!
There are many empty lots for sale that look like they would work for the new library, but what do I know? We already have a library with a great location, why don't they just build on to that one?? It's not a big lot but they could build UP maybe. It also doesn't have a big parking lot, but the lot they have is never full.

The city has made up it's mind, and I feel like my livelihood is being taken away from me.
Well, thanks for the vent...time to get ready for school now.

 

[Loubon]

Sorry to hear this. I hope everything works itself out for you.

Wishing you the best.

 

[Lars624]

I hope it all works our for you

 

[CRB#33]

I'm so very sorry to hear this.

Make sure that you get every penny you can from them. Get all your records together. If they don't offer you what you consider to be a fair price, you can go to the County Board of Views and have them determine the price. It's like a jury. Not of your peers, but of people in the real estate business and the like. Sometimes it works out better if you can get it that far.

It has to be a fair and equitable price that the government offers you. That may not be what they do.

Good luck!

*edited to add*

This is the information I have from Pennsylvania.

 

[montessori]

thanks guys.
CRB#33...the problem is I don't own the building.
From what I understand, the city has offered $1000 to the tenants of the buildings for relocation. Might as well be one penny.
I know my landlord pretty well. She will fight to get a fair deal for herself, but that doesn't help me. She has already told me she can't find any other properties in the area to buy.
I slept 2 hours last night and I woke up crying. I have puffy eyes and a killer headache! WAAAAA

I have to put on my happy face and go to school now.
Thanks for your support and I'll keep you posted.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hoping it goes well, montessori, that the move is good and you wind up better than ever. Many times things work out well.

 

[Serena]

That's awful! I'm sorry.

 

[janette]

One of my DD's attended a montessori school a few years ago. They needed a larger space to expand and she was able to find a builder / developer that offered a build to suit deal. They now have a much nicer school without having to make the capital investment in a new building. You might look around. I believe many of the parents volunteered to help with the move etc so that also helped.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am so sorry. Your story kind of reminds me of the movie "You Got Mail".

I hope that things work out for the better in the end.

 

[Kimberle]

oh, that's so sad to hear. Our country despertly needs good pre-schools. I hope everything works out OK for you.

 

[gallaj0]

Get yourself a lawyer that can sue the sweat off a racehorse, and set him (or her) loose. Call any newspaper that will answer the phone, and any TV networks in the area; they love this kind of little guy vs. city hall type thing.
At the least, they should be able to negotiate a better deal on the moving funds, even if it's a done deal. Maybe they can negotiate a lease on some city owned property, and have the city pay for any renovations needed.

get the parents involved; some of them may have contacts that can help.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Oh Montessori I feel your pain! In our case it is the airport. They decided to build a new runway and to take it into our town. Since the airport is owned by the city of St. Louis we had no say in the matter. My kids school is being torn down in just 6 weeks. Many people lost their houses and most of Bridgeton will be gone in the end. It is so sad that things we work for can just be taken away, with no recourse. I wish you the best, we have merged with another church and are building onto the school so that our kids will have a place to go, but I am sad to think about what we have lost.

 

[olena]

Make sure that library isn't code word for Wal-Mart.

I've heard rumblings that a Constitutional Amendment may be proposed to uphold and clarify the rights of property owners. However, I believe the protections will cover cases where Eminent Domain would be invoked only to have the land turned over to a private entity. Public uses like libraries, airports and roads would still be legal.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

I am sorry you are going through this, montessori, but since you are not the property owner I doubt there's much you can do.

if your landlord had simply decided not to renew the lease, you would not be entitled to any compensation. you may wantt o consult an atorney for piece of mind, but since your landlord seems to be of a mind to accept the city's offer, I doubt there is anything you, as tenant, can do.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Is there a Small Business Advisory Council in your area?

It sounds like you have a pretty long track record as a viable business. I would think that there might be some assistance in the form of Grants or Low Interest Loans that you could apply for to help in your move.

Are there other businesses near you that are also being kicked out? Maybe you can somehow pool resources in finding a new ideal location for both or several businesses.

Perhaps you can find an investor in your area that would be willing to renovate or build a new Campus for your school. Maybe you could expand to additional grades and generate more revenue? There is a growing demand for Private School Education in this country.

Maybe this can be an opportunity for you.

 

[missypie]

Check out this web site:
www.castlecoalition.org

 

[ripleysmom]

I'm sorry montessori.

 

[montessori]

I am very thankful for the Dis!
I appreciate all your responses so much.
There are many things I can do to try to make the best of this situation and I do believe that great things can happen as a result of this.
I am going to start by talking to some of the business owners on the block and maybe call one of the city commissioners too.
I am not even sure EXACTLY what is going on.
My landlord has me a little baffled. She came by school today and
made a point of telling me, AGAIN, not to get involved...not to stir up any trouble.
I don't know what that means but it just feels strange to me that she keeps telling me to stay out of it.
There are 2 buildings for sale on that block, I called about one of them a few weeks ago, I was just curious how much it was selling for.
How can these buildings be for sale?
I mean... someone could buy a building there now, put money into fixing it up and opening a business there and then WHAM, the city is going to force them to sell it to them and start over somewhere else? Maybe the city is trying to buy them now and not offering enough money for them.
I think I really don't know enough about what is going on!

I'm going to find out more information and go from there.
Once again, I can't thank you enough for your support.
It means a lot to me.

 

[AirForceRocks]

My landlord has me a little baffled. She came by school today and made a point of telling me, AGAIN, not to get involved...not to stir up any trouble.
I don't know what that means but it just feels strange to me that she keeps telling me to stay out of it.

She probably wants you to stay out of it because it is HER building and she doesn't want you to do anything that is going to mess up any deal she might have with the city. I have to say, I agree with her. I'm sorry that your school is going to be impacted in such a negative way, but at the same time, the building does belong to her, and if she is willing to sell, then you should just let it go and find someplace else.

Just my $.02.

 

[Briar Rose 7457]

exactly. she's the landlord, she has an interest in getting a fair price for her property.