Eminent domain used often to spur economic development

Recent history is full of cases where eminent domain has been used or threatened as a tool for economic redevelopment.

The Alameda Square shopping center, at South Federal Boulevard and West Alameda Avenue in southwest Denver, was home to some 25 Asian-oriented businesses. When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in 2002 wanted to move in with a 209,261-square-foot Supercenter, it worked with the Denver Urban Renewal Authority to threaten existing businesses with condemnation through eminent domain if they didn’t vacate. In 2003, DURA declared the center “blighted,” the first step in evicting the businesses and clearing the way for Walmart, and offered the…