I'm actually not against the use of eminent domain

I just think that when it happens it must be transparent and able to be challenged, done judiciously, and when other options have been exhausted. For example, I favor receivership capabilities to abate nuisance properties. (Plus, it's hard to favor it in DC, because too many times the entities benefiting from it, or other government gifts, do lousy projects.)

This article from the Baltimore Business Journal describes a likely good use of such power, the Baltimore Development Corporation assembled property and received seven bids, proposing mixed-use, residential and retail projects. From the article:

Seven development teams are vying for the chance to build on two sites in Baltimore's Pigtown/Washington Village neighborhood. The demand for the two Southwest Baltimore properties surprised city economic development officials who hadn't expected such an enthusiastic response. ... The BDC used eminent domain to create the contiguous parcels. The BDC has the power to condemn properties and pay owners a fair market price after it exhausts other efforts to force an owner to rehabilitate or sell.

"The Pigtown commercial district is so strong in so many ways," Frank said. "They have been frustrated by the fact that there have been these persistent vacancies and blight."

Index Keywords: eminent-domain; urban-revitalization