Today is the third anniversary of Kelo v. City of New London. The case, heard by the Supreme Court, involved the use of Eminent Domain by the City of New London on behalf of the Pfizer Company to confiscate private property.
So whatever happened to the site that was soooooo vital to the City's economic growth that the City had to take people's property? Well...turns out maybe it wasn't that vital. Reason's Hit and Run has a quote from the Institute for Justice (the public interest firm that litigated the case):
Like so many other projects that use eminent domain and rely on taxpayer subsidies, New London's Fort Trumbull project has been a failure. After spending $78 million in taxpayer dollars, the city of New London and the private developer have engaged in no new construction since the project was approved in 2000. Indeed, since the property owners disputing the takings owned less than two acres in a 90-acre project area, the city has always had a vast majority of the land available for development. Yet, no new development has occurred. The preferred developer for part of the site, Corcoran Jennison, recently missed its latest deadline for securing financing for building on the site and was terminated as the "designated developer."
So you took people's homes so you could have a very important...empty lot. No - wait, I'm sorry - a BIG empty lot.
