So Much for Eminent Domain
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The eminent domain case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Now, neighbors are questioning the whole project.
It's been nearly four years since a group of New London homeowners took their fight to save their homes to the U.S. Supreme Court and lost.
The city took the homes by eminent domain, forcing the homeowners out, and planned to develop the land with offices, hotels, retail and more, all built up around Pfizer's research center.
But years later, that land still sits empty, and Pfizer officials recently said the company will close the research center. Now, it appears the prospects to develop the area are slim.
Many residents are angry, including those who lost their homes and now say the Pfizer announcement just proves they were on the right side of the epic eminent domain battle.
"We just got so sick of hearing that we were supposed to sacrifice for the greater good," Matthew Dery told the Associated Press. Dery moved to Waterford after being forced out of his Fort Trumbull neighborhood. "As it turns out, there was no greater good."
In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that New London could take the properties in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood for private development. But since then, the city has been unable to land a developer to do anything with the area.
The New London Development Corporation says there are still plans for the neighborhood in the future and blames the economy for the delay.
"It's ready for development, and development's going to happen once the economy rebounds," John Brooks, executive director of the NLDC, said.
But homeowners who were forced out, like Susette Kelo, the plaintiff in the eminent domain case, feel differently.
"We always thought it was foolish from the beginning; we had always said that from the beginning," she said.
Posted Monday, Nov 16, 2009 - 2:17 PM EST
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