LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The City of Clarksville moved forward with the Colgate plant and tried to claim eminent domain on the property on Wednesday.
That would mean the city could take away the property from its private owner for the public's use.
Clarks Landing Enterprise Investments has owned the property since 2014 but it has sat empty since 2007.
According to Communications Director Ken Conklin the town wants to preserve and protect the historic building and clock.
Morgan Ward, the attorney for Clarks Landing Enterprise Investments, sent an official statement reading:
In response to any suggestion that the historic clock or any historic building on the property is at risk, we want to emphasize that the historic buildings and clock are not in any danger under our client’s ownership. To the contrary, Clark's Landing has spent millions of dollars preserving the property – far more than what the Town has offered -- and has listed the property as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Our client has leased portions of the property to qualified tenants who have created high paying jobs in the community, and it has a comprehensive development plan that will ensure that the entire property is put to its highest and best use, while preserving its historic nature. This is a capital intensive and time-consuming process, and we do not believe the Town has the right to condemn this privately-owned property while our client continues to execute its development plan.
"We have given them years to try to come up with a plan that would be reasonable and work out and it just hasn't happened and over that time the building has kind of fallen into disrepair," Conklin said.
In February, the town was going to offer the owner $6 million for the land.
They gave the owner 30 days to respond, but the company has not officially responded.
"When we built our new Main Street and we have a lot of redevelopment going on down here in South Clarksville, you know it was framed with, when you look down the Main Street you see the historic clock," Conklin said.
Clarks Landing Enterprise Investments told WHAS11 News they think the land is worth more than what the town has offered.
Read this statement below:
Our client, Clark’s Landing Enterprises Investments, is doing all it reasonably can to cooperate with the Town of Clarksville with respect to the development of the property, while preserving its historic nature. With respect to the Town’s offer, we believe that the fair market value of this historic property is many times what has been offered to date by the Town. We have not yet formally responded to the Town’s offer for the property because we are still in the process of completing a proper appraisal. We respectfully believe that the threat of condemnation is not appropriate if we fail to reach an agreement. Simply put, this is private property that the Town does not have the legal authority to condemn, and Clark’s Landing fully intends to defend its rights in court if necessary.
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