An 89-year-old Phoenix homeowner is fighting an attempt by Arizona State University (ASU) to use eminent domain to seize his residence.
ABC15.com reports Robert Young has lived in his home at the corner of North 4th and Pierce Street since 1975. The property was built in 1902 by butcher Louis Emerson and predates Arizona’s statehood in 1912; it is among Phoenix’s oldest surviving residences.
ASU wants the use Young’s property for the expansion of its medical and technology school, and it has made multiple offers ranging from between $290,000 and nearly $1 million for the property. But Young is not interested in selling and the Arizona Board of Regents is suing him in Maricopa County Superior Court records to seize the property.
An online petition supporting Young has received more than 11,000 signatures, and the homeowner is ready to stand up for his rights in court.
“It’s stressful,” he admitted. “You don’t know from day to day if you’re gonna find the house on the corner.”
ASU has not publicly commented on its efforts to take over Young’s property.
Photo via Tony the Marine / Wikimedia Commons
0 Comments