Lawyers for the City of Bloomington and 222 Hats LLC filed proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law Friday, meeting the deadline set earlier this month.
This is the latest in a months-long eminent domain dispute over a property on the same block as the now-partly-demolished Fourth Street Garage.
Local realtor Juan Carlos Carrasquel owns the building just south of the garage lot. He owns the property and has said it is the “perfect” location for his business, Juan Sells Realty, which he operates out of the building.
The city has offered to pay Carrasquel $587,500 for the building – almost $90,000 more than Carrasquel paid for it in March 2018. And the city would offer him office space on the ground floor of the new garage.
After Carrasquel refused the city’s offer, Bloomington officials took legal action, entering into a court dispute with 222 Hats LLC to acquire the building through eminent domain.
The city’s proposed order asserts that because the city made a “good faith” offer to purchase the building, the burden of proof is on Carrasquel and his lawyers to show that their five separate objections should be sustained.
Carrasquel’s objections are as follows:
- The city’s eminent domain attempt is unlawful because it is not for a public use, as the proposed garage would also include private retail shops.
- The city’s complaint is defective because “it does not factually describe” the parking garage project, most importantly that it includes a commercial shopping center (a non-public use).
- The city’s complaint is defective because “it alleges and is based upon a violation of Indiana law.”
- The city’s complaint is defective because “it fails to name a necessary party with an interest” in the building.
- The city’s complaint is defective because “it requests relief to which the [city] is not entitled.”
In the city’s proposed order, it claims Carrasquel’s objection about the garage not being entirely for public use “overlooks and mischaracterizes the primary purpose of the project.”
Bloomington Proposed Findings by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd
222 Hats LLC Findings of Fact by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd
