When the city of Hartford needed land for its $350 million stadium and downtown development project, it couldn’t come to an agreement with a certain property owner on a price. So the city took some of the land it wanted by force, and decided to pay $1.9 million for it -- an amount its owner said was "wholly inadequate."
Now, the matter is in court, and the two sides are in front of a judge arguing over how much the city should actually pay.
Late last year, the property owner made a compromise offer of $5.22 million, which the city refused. On Tuesday, testimony in state court began -- again bringing the price tag for the over-budget stadium and its related development to the fore.
Covered Bridge Ventures owned the roughly three acres in question and bought them in 2012 for roughly $375,000. In 2014, the city said it originally had a deal with the company to buy the land for $2.5 million, but the deal was never signed. Eventually, the company said it wanted more -- and that's when the city balked.
On Tuesday, CBV's principal, P.J. Yeatman, took the stand and told the court that he bought the property -- a surface parking lot -- because it was a "tremendous opportunity" that represented an "irreplaceable piece of frontage." It was between the new public safety complex, a magnet school, and downtown; it was part of a development plan created by the city; and, soon, it will stand directly across the street from the new minor league baseball stadium being built for the Hartford Yard Goats.
Yeatman also testified that the city was paying him far less for his property than it did for an adjacent property owned by LAZ -- a parking operator.
One question before the court may in fact be timing. According to the city, the court must consider the fair market value of the land to be "the price that a willing buyer would pay a willing seller based on the highest and best possible use of the land." It also should consider whether any entity other than the city had the ability to assemble the group of parcels in question.
Trial is expected to last at least through the end of the week.
