Rug shop owners sue Glendale over blight label
“The owners of Authentic Persian and Oriental Rugs in Glendale have filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Glendale challenging the city’s declaration of blight on their commercial property located at East Virginia Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, and seeking to have the designation removed.
The property has been the center of controversy since May, when the city of Glendale held a vote authorizing the use of eminent domain on the rug shop owner’s property, which at the time was part of a redevelopment plan for an entertainment district called Glendale 180.
….
Summit Hospitality LLC, which owns a hotel that is part of the Glendale 180 development, has also sued Glendale, alleging that Glendale improperly stacked a bond election to fund the project by selling five one-square-foot parcels of land on the Glendale 180 redevelopment site to five property owners who are connected with the city in order to ensure the success of the election.
Glendale canceled the bond election in order to clear up the issue after filing a motion to dismiss the Summit Hospitality suit.
Glendale Deputy City Manager Linda Cassaday issued the following statement Tuesday:
“The City has made it clear that we have no intention of condemning their property for the Glendale 180 project, so they now have the opportunity to redevelop their property themselves. It is unfortunate that they would prefer to spend their money on legal fees rather than moving forward with the redevelopment that they so publicly say they want.””
Armbrister, Molly. Denver Business Journal 27 October 2015.