It has been a while since the famous Kelo eminent domain case was handed down from the Supreme Court – basically giving government Carte Blanche to use private property in any way they see fit.
If you have read Property Development Source for a while you will know that I feel the use of eminent domain to transfer private property from one private entity to another ultimately hurts real estate values and creates instability and uncertainty in the marketplace. All bad for land investors and land developers.
Those in favor of eminent domain in these cases often argue that job creation and economic growth are more important than protecting individual property rights. (In fact the City of New London and the New London Development Company used these exact arguments in the Kelo case.)
No doubt the justices on the Supreme Court were hoping that New London Development Companies delivery on these promises would serve as a shining example of why they ruled in favor of New London and far reaching government eminent domain.
But as an article in the NY Daily News points out, the exact opposite as happened. After bulldozing all the homes and leaving an expanse of empty dirt, nothing else has happened. No new homes, no new jobs, no improvement to the economy.
In fact, it is clear today that the City of New London has actually made the economy worse by their use of eminent domain.
One wonders if the Supreme Court would still rule the same way today.
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