- JoAnn and Arthur Bailey -Hadley Township would have been an ideal place for the Baileys to enjoy their senior years, but the city and a developer have other plans. |
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For over 4 decades, the Baileys have helped to make Hadley Township a great place to live. They did such a good job that other people want to live there now - but without the Bailey's and their old neighbors! |
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Hadley Township is a middle class neighborhood located in Richmond Heights, MO, a suburb in St. Louis, and it has been our home for 43 years. My husband and I raised our family here. We envisioned that this would always be our home. We added a beautiful family room on to our home and it is my favorite room in the house. Several years ago, our dream of staying in our home came crashing down on us. |
The City of Richmond Heights put out a Request for Proposal for Hadley Township. The Michelson Organization was awarded the contract and is proposing to develop the area with 150-room hotel, stores, offices, 48 condos and 153 homes. So last year, under the threat of eminent domain, we were forced to sign a contract to sell our home of 43 years. We were supposed to close on our home in November of 2007 (December at the latest). We were going to move on and try to rebuild our lives in another home in another community. But, because the developer has not been able to negotiate a contract with all of the property owners in the proposed development area and the City has not moved forward with condemnation of these properties, the developer will not close on our home. So not only have we suffered the abuse of being forced to sell our home under the threat of eminent domain, we are now living in limbo. We have been told by the Mayor of Richmond Heights that this could go on for several years. My husband and I feel that the use of eminent domain for taking private property from one person and giving it to another (in our case a developer) is wrong. In addition, the process is flawed and benefits the developer… not the home owner being abused. - JoAnn and Arthur Bailey |
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