Mayoral candidate claims city's eminent domain action is illegal

September 15, 2011|By Kelli Stopczynski (kstopczynski@wsbt.com), Click here to become a fan of Kelli on Facebook | By Kelli Stopczynski (kstopczynski@wsbt.com), Click here to become a fan of Kelli on Facebook

SOUTH BEND – The city’s Republican mayoral candidate is fighting to keep his home, but developers say it’s delaying construction on a brand new neighborhood.

Wayne Curry’s home sits on Burns Avenue, south of Eddy Street Commons and northeast of the Five Points intersection. Plans to put a neighborhood there have been in the works for about 10 years. Those plans also include putting a road through what is currently Curry’s yard.

He moved into his home – then about 600 square feet – in 1993. His upgrades and additions make the now 2,300 square foot, blue and gold home tough to miss for people driving down the nearby South Bend Avenue.

“I put a lot of time into making it this way,” he said.

Developers from South Bend’s Heritage Foundation told WSBT they’ve already torn down about 35 homes in an area called “The South Triangle.” Curry and his next door neighbor are the only two left. They’re holding fast because they claim the city is breaking the law by trying to use public eminent domain law for a private neighborhood development.

“Typically the private developer has to pay for the roads, purchase the property then deed that property back to the city,” Curry explained. “In this case, the [Northeast Neighborhood Revitalization Organization] has gotten the city to come along and try to take our homes from us through the use of the Board of Public Works’ powers, bypassing this new statute.”

The plan is to build 55 new homes for low to moderate income, working class families. Developers said so far they’ve sold 30 of those lots and had hoped to start construction this fall.

“For the neighborhood, it's essential,” said Phil Byrd, the South Bend Heritage Foundation’s Real Estate Director. “There's been hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in the neighborhood. This is just a part of it. If you look at Eddy Street Commons, the high school, there's just a lot happening.”

“It’ll bring in more families, more bodies into the neighborhood to support some of the future growth we want,” added Northeast Neighborhood Council President Bill Stenz. “We desperately would like a grocery store, drugstore, those kind of things we need around here.”

But litigation between Curry and the city is stalling progress.

“What they’ve offered isn’t enough and I trust a judge won’t ignore the fact that I’m three blocks from the University of Notre Dame. And I think if I have to sell I will get a better settlement from a judge,” said Curry.

He’s confident his argument will hold up in court. If Curry’s attorney and the city don’t reach an agreement soon, the matter is set to go before a judge September 29.

If developers can’t break ground this fall, their plan is to begin in the spring. This project coincides with the State Road 23 widening project – turning South Bend Avenue into a four lane, divided highway. That road construction project is scheduled to begin next spring.

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