Filing Claims It’s Too Soon for Eminent Domain of Convention Center Land

The fight over land marked for a new Nashville convention center continued Wednesday as a key property owner filed court papers protesting the city’s efforts to use eminent domain.

The five acres owned by Tower Properties were condemned after the company balked at the sale price Metro offered. The filing argues that the city didn’t have the right to exercise eminent domain, because Metro Council hasn’t given final approval to the convention center project, and because the company had development plans for the land that it says wouldn’t get in the way of the convention center.

Metro’s Development and Housing Agency contends the price they offered was fair, because it was roughly the same amount Tower paid for the land three years ago, in a stronger real estate market.

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