Constitutional Justice in Eminent Domain
As told in the magnificent Little Pink House, the city of New London and its New London Development Corporation (NLDC, now Renaissance City Dev. Corp.) planned to acquire and redevelop 90 acres on the Fort Trumbull peninsula. After the state invested $75 million in the plan, the NLDC used eminent domain to acquire lots owned by Susette Kelo, and her six neighbors. The NLDC argued the economic benefits of the proposed plan were a “public use” justifying the taking. Kelo sued, and the case reached the Supreme Court, which sided with the city. Thirteen years after the Kelo decision, after all the condemning and evicting and bulldozing, nothing has been built on the land that was taken. A hotel deal recently fell through, as did a plan for condominium units.
