Interminable eminent domain battle over?

Bloomfield Township and downtown developers Forest City Residential, were denied use of eminent domain in the case of 110 Washington St. This battle has been brewing for well over a year now and I'm glad to finally see this resolved. The decision by the Supreme Court not to hear this case is probably a good one, because the Superior Court ruling was the right decision. The redevelopment area in question is not blighted in the least, despite the presence of 110 Washington St. It's simply an ugly building in an ordinary neighborhood and the courts cannot start setting a precedent where eminent domain could be used to demolish any and every ugly building.

Union Center eyeing redevelopment

The Metro Company recently completed a study about redeveloping Union Center (in Union, NJ). The Star-Ledger wrote about it yesterday.

EO ready to raze ugly buildings for the new Hilton complex

At last week's East Orange City Council meeting, contracts were awarded for demolition projects on a couple of redevelopment areas. Most notably, the contract for demolishing the towers on the site of the proposed Hilton hotel/retail/commercial center on Evergreen Place was awarded to Mazzocchi Wrecking.

I cannot wait to see these two buildings go. They're awfully hideous and over the years they lied vacant, the towers were home to squatters, drug dealers and murderers. Burned bodies were found there in 2003.

East Orange Property Auction

On Thursday December 7th, the City of East Orange will be holding an auction of city-owned properties. The two featured properties are a former community center on Washington St., located a block from Dr. King Plaza, and an old colonial home on Midland Ave, near the Bloomfield/Glen Ridge borders. Some abandoned gas stations and vacant lots are available as well. A full list of properties can be found here.