Judge sets September court date in ASU lawsuit over historic downtown Phoenix home

Arizona State University will head back to court in September as it attempts to force a downtown Phoenix property owner to give up a century-old historic home to make way for “open space” at a new medical campus.

The Board of Regents filed an eminent lawsuit earlier this month on behalf of ASU as it attempts to take over the Emerson House, a historic home built in 1902 that Robert Young has owned since 1975.

At a hearing on Friday, attorney Jim Braselton told the court the Arizona Board of Regents is asking the court to let it take “immediate possession” of the home, which would let the university take control of the property before the actual lawsuit is resolved in court.

“The basic purpose for immediate possession is to get physical control of the property. We don't get title until the case is over, we understand that,” Braselton told the judge.

In court filings, Braselton argues ASU needs the property to build a new medical school, a project that broke ground in April.

In a statement, ASU officials said they made multiple offers to purchase the home, including options that would have allowed the house to be moved.

According to an offer letter filed with court documents, ASU offered to pay Young $815,000 for the property, which includes the 833-square-foot Emerson House and the larger 4,642-square-foot lot.

“The university’s final offer was based on an appraisal prepared by an experienced, state-certified appraiser, a copy of which was provided to the property owner. The offers were not accepted,” according to the statement.

Arizona law allows government bodies to seize property through eminent domain if the property is "necessary" for a “public use.”

In this case, that public use is the new medical school.

Though he declined the university’s offers, Young does not oppose the project as a whole.

“But ASU can have its building without delay, and without taking Mr. Young’s historic home,” his attorneys wrote in court documents.

They argue that’s because project documents included in the lawsuit show the 4,600-square-foot Emerson House site will be used to add “open space” to the nearly 200,000-square-foot medical campus.

According to those documents, the project will include 6% open space. That drops to 3% without the Emerson House.

“ABOR asserts that the authorized public use is medical school instruction at a public university,” Young’s attorney wrote in court documents. “Not a single core function of that school will be interrupted if Defendants’ home is left intact.”

If ASU gets its way, Barry Schwartz, a tenant living in the historic home, will have to find a new place to live. The Arizona Republic reported Schwartz has lived in the home for eight years.

Schwartz, who is named a party in the case, does not have an attorney and is representing himself in the case.

He asked the court if anyone plans to help him find a new place to live.

Braselton, the attorney for the board of regents, said ASU plans to work with Schwartz on that issue.

“They're aware that relocation benefits will need to be addressed with Mr. Schwartz, and our intent will be to coordinate with him on that,” Braselton said.

Whether that is necessary won’t be known for at least two months. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Valenzuela set a Sept. 4 court date to consider ABOR’s request to take control of the property.