Washington Eminent Domain Attorney | Mercer Mess Finally Settled

After a lot of bickering, a lot of name calling, a lot of political maneuvering, and a lot of legal fees, the City of Seattle has finally settled the Mercer Mess case, an Seattle eminent domain action instituted to take the building West Marine, a Seattle boating business.

If you are not from the Seattle area, or never go downtown, or never read the newspaper or watch television, the Mercer Mess is that area of downtown Seattle that includes Mercer Street from about Fairway Avenue North to Westlake Avenue North. The road is currently one way, and has for years been causing a lot of congestion and hassle for those trying to get on and off the highway. To remedy this situation, the City of Seattle has decided to make the road a two way street. The funny thing about this is that traffic models show, and the City acknowledges, that the design proposed will not be able to handle the current traffic volume, much less the projected traffic volume. But they march forward nonetheless.

West Marine became tangled in this mess because their building is located at Mercer and Terry Avenue North, right in the heart of the Mercer Mess. To construct the project as designed, West Marine's building needed to come down. So, at least several months ago they tried to purchase the property from the owners and the tenants (West Marine), under the threat of condemnation, for an amount that was less than acceptable to landowner and tenant. So, West Marine did what any prudent business owner or landowner should do when facing a Washington eminent domain action - they hired a Washington eminent domain attorney, and to be more specific, a Seattle eminent domain attorney.

While, truth be told, they were less concerned about the money (the type of condemnation landowner work I do) and more concerned about the believed true reason for taking the property (for economic development - not a public purpose), in the end they reached an agreement to sell the property to the city for 8.4 million. I don't know what the property was worth because I didn't have a chance to look at the appraisals, but I would guess that they probably did okay for themselves.

What is the lesson to be learned from here? There are two of them. First, don't be afraid to fight the government for what you believe is right. Whether the City of Seattle, the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Washington Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, King County, the City of Spokane, or any other governmental entity or agency, you are entitled to just compensation for the taking of your property, and you are entitled to not have your property taken for non-public purposes.

And second, don't go into battle against a larger, more resourceful, more powerful enemy without having a little firepower of your own. This means hiring a Seattle eminent domain lawyer or Washington eminent domain lawyer to help you fight the hard fight. Experienced eminent domain lawyers know the weaknesses of the governments case and knows how to point that out to the government so they will understand where we are coming from.

If your Washington state property is being taken by eminent domain, call CMS Law Firm LLC today. We can help you get what you deserve for your property