CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Corpus Christi is using eminent domain to construct a new fire station along Kostoryz Road.
The old fire station, now 68 years old, is being replaced by the city. However, it encountered an issue while attempting to acquire land nearby for the new station.
A disparity in pricing has led the city to exercise eminent domain and compensate the owner fairly.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said that Monday signifies the commencement of the eminent domain process as the city endeavors to acquire the property for constructing its new fire station along Kostoryz and McArdle Road.
"Our understanding is that it was listed at 600,000 when we expressed interest to acquire it, it doubled to 1.2 million," he said.
The property's owner is Michel Ifergan, who said that he had already listed it for the new price of $1.2 million before the city made inquiries. Ifergan said he isn't happy about the city's use of eminent domain to take his property.
"I want to file a lawsuit if they want to buy the property off me let them buy it with the right price," he said.
Zanoni said he hopes a fair price can eventually be reached in this case.
"We're trying to reach a compromise that is fair for the community, fair for the taxpayer but also fair for the landowner," he said.
A compromise could halt the eminent domain process. Alternatively, involvement of lawyers and judges might escalate costs and potentially delay the project for all parties.
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