Hercules council prepares for possible eminent domain action on Sycamore project

“The City Council embraced a dual-pronged strategy Tuesday to resolve an impasse over a half-built apartment building, urging negotiations to avoid litigation while preparing for a possible eminent domain action to secure an easement on an adjacent alley for maintenance and construction.

Sycamore North, clad in weatherproofing material and highly visible from Interstate 80, was conceived in the last decade as a mostly low-income housing development to satisfy the affordable housing quota of the adjacent 335-home Bayside subdivision under state redevelopment rules in effect at the time.

The Hercules Redevelopment Agency started out as developer of the approximately $70 million project but ran out of money halfway through construction.”

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Contra Costa TImes 24 July 2013.