Quote:
Originally Posted by bmfarley
Todays Paradise in progress:
Marriott Residence Inn Construction Begins
Construction of the 12-story, 185-room hotel at Sixth Avenue and J Street will start next week with the installation of fencing and the beginning of dewatering and shoring. On street parking on the south side of J and east side of Sixth next to the project will be eliminated for the length of construction. The hotel is expected to open in the summer of 2009.
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When is the other Marriott across the street expected to break ground?
Judgment favors eminent-domain plaintiff
By Elizabeth Fitzsimons
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
April 25, 2006
A business owner whose property in the Gaslamp Quarter was condemned by the city's powers of eminent domain has been awarded $1.25 million in attorneys fees.
The judge's award last Thursday was in addition to a San Diego Superior Court jury's award in October of $7.8 million in favor of the business owner, Ahmed Mesdaq.
The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency of San Diego, voted in April 2004 to force Mesdaq and his Gran Havana Cigar and Coffee Lounge from the property at Fifth Avenue and J Street so that a developer could build a 334-room Marriott Renaissance Hotel on the site.
“The city condemned my property and promised they would break ground immediately to build this hotel,” Mesdaq said.
“They took my property, kicked me out of the place, but they never had any plans. There's no plan, there's no financing, there's nothing whatsoever.”
Under an agreement with the city, developers Ramin Samimi and Ed Himmelberg would have to pay the judgment.
The city has appealed the case. The city's attorney, Bruce Beach, was unavailable for comment yesterday. Mesdaq's attorney, Vincent Bartolotta Jr., said he was willing to reach a settlement.
“From our standpoint, it's an unnecessary and unwarranted waste of time and money, and they should sit down with us and settle this case,” Bartolotta said.
He said the city is using the property for parking and special events.
Mesdaq bought the property in 2000 for $1.3 million and put about $1 million into renovations. He refused offers to sell the property for $3 million.
Mesdaq's dispute with the city drew national attention in the debate over a government's power to take private land so that it may be developed privately by someone else.
Traditionally, eminent domain has been used by governments seeking private land for public projects such as schools and roads. In recent years, governments have used the eminent domain powers for economic development, reasoning that the jobs and tax revenue generated by the project would benefit the public.
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Elizabeth Fitzsimons: (619) 542-4577;
elizabeth.fitzsimons@uniontrib.com
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