Eminent Domain Could Claim 18 Houses in Richfield

“Homeowners along 66th Street in Richfield say their lives are up in the air.
They have been waiting on the Richfield City Council vote to widen busy 66th Street that would mean destroying 18 homes. The city would buy the houses through eminent domain.
Eight-seven-year old Al Keenan normally spends his winters in Las Vegas, instead he’s still in Minnesota waiting to see if his Richfield house will be demolished.
“How about the people living in here. Why don’t you just let me know what you are going to do. They know what they are going to do,” Al Keenan said.
The saying: If these walls could talk applies to Keenan’s house. When Keenan saw it 37 years ago, the design reminded him of his late grandfather’s style.
“Weddings and funerals. You name it, this house has seen it,” Keenan said.
Keenan’s house is just feet off 66th Street. He’s had a front row seat to Richfield’s growth and the street’s congestion. The project will rebuild around three miles of 66th.
“Progress is part of life. Sometimes immediately it maybe painful, but down the road it’s good,” Keenan said.
Other neighbors say they don’t see the need for road improvements and don’t want to move out of their houses.”

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Brown, Lindsey. KSTP 9 December 2014.