November 06, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - On Friday, Nov. 2, Western Kentucky University Regents unanimously approved a resolution to begin condemnation proceedings to acquire a parcel of land necessary to construct a building for the University’s College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
The Kentucky General Assembly authorized the construction of a replacement building for Tate Page Hall to begin as early as January 2008. The property, 1672 Normal Drive, lies within the site identified by the University for the location of the academic building, and is bounded by property currently owned by WKU. The rental property at that address is the only parcel of land within the building site that is not owned by the University.
Tate Page Hall, the current location of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, has been slated to be demolished because it is no longer able to adequately provide classroom and faculty office space for some of the University’s most popular majors. Additionally, the building has been plagued in recent years with mold issues due to an out-dated heating and ventilation system.
The University began negotiations to acquire the property in mid-December of 2006. After the owners declined the University’s good-faith offers to purchase the property outright, or acquire it through the establishment of a charitable gift annuity, WKU Regents concluded that the only other viable option was to proceed under KRS 164.410(1) in its own name to condemn the real estate in the manner provided in the Eminent Domain Act of Kentucky.
It is the University’s position that condemnation, while unfortunate, is necessary to WKU’s public purpose and to allow the use the surrounding University owned property. Further, the timely acquisition of the property is critical to meet a taxpayer provided construction budget and a timeline designed to minimize class disruption.
By Kentucky state law, before WKU can acquire any property for its public purpose, it is required to obtain an appraisal by a state-approved appraiser to determine its Fair Market Value (FMV). The University has contracted with two area state-approved appraisers to determine the FMV of the property and has made its offers to purchase based upon those appraisals and in accordance with Kentucky state law. Using this method, WKU was able to reach an agreement with each of the other seven owners of property that lay within the site plan for the building.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For more information, contact Bob Edwards, (270) 745-5428.
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