Will the city demolish the $2.75 million dollar mansion?
I have no idea, but let’s look at some scenarios;
On one hand, the city has the legal authority to tear down the house, and since they have been fighting this for 10 years I don’t see any hesitancy on their part. Some would argue that this may make certain people in charge look bad politically, but if there is one thing I have learned from this administration and code enforcement department, they are VINDICTIVE and I don’t see them skipping a beat to tear down this house. Politics be damned when some of the most influential people in the city live in the neighborhood including hospital, media and developer executives, many who have donated to the campaigns of the very people in charge at 9th and Main.
But the Federal judge who said the city has the authority to tear down the house has warned of potential litigation problems if that happens;
Besides the obvious waste of tearing down the house, there are constitutional issues.
My second scenario would be the city finding a suitable buyer, selling the home and being reimbursed for the city’s legal expenses. This would make the most sense and may be the way the city is leaning considering they were granting building permits while the litigation was pending.
Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth,
Many have wondered why the building services department was granting permits. Didn’t the city’s legal department notify the office that they shouldn’t supply permits to this gentleman? I think if the house is torn down he could build a whole case around the permitting alone since apparently there is ZERO communication between city departments when it comes to pending litigation.
Whether the house is torn down or auctioned, in the end the city will make an example, because that is what VINDICTIVE AUTHORITARIANS do. Even if it is saved, the current owners will be hung out to dry.
Personally I think it is BS that someone takes 10 years to complete a house, and I think the city has some authority to speed up or remedy those situations, BUT property rights are a constitutional right and there was probably a million different ways to fix this issue without taking or destroying the home even if they were uncooperative.
This is what happens when you have cruise control government and unqualified leaders and counsel personnel. Ironically this administration has taken a wrecking ball to common sense government so this case just seems par for the course.
This Mayor is just chomping at the bit to have this house ripped down. He so wants to prove he’s in charge and to also save face in front of his future campaign donors. Your last paragraph is spot on.
The judge admitted it would be a waste to tear it down. The city approved it every step of the way. It’s a big project that (likely) takes more than 10 years to complete. Given inflation and interest rates, 12 years possible.
It’s not nice to build a home bigger than city billionaires.
Two practical resources:
1.) Let a hotel corporation finish it but brand it an AirBNB so as to compete locally by not paying hotel sin taxes.
2.) Finish it federally like a Narco Prison Country Club. It can be a Trump prison. Perfectly located amidst oligarch estates.
Owner should donate to Bishop Dudley for finish development into church and homeless shelter.
I think it should be saved and finished, then turned into a museum depicting the history of Hari-bourgeois Nord (Taupeville). Perhaps, Sherwin-Williams could sponsor a wing denoting the history of paint and especially the taupe hue. Maybe the Schwans would like to sponsor a wing about shape place zoning, Walmart, overnight camping, 85th Street, and beyond. There could also be a section about the political divide in our fine river city and how some are encouraging Sioux Falls One while others act as though they have won…. AND, definitely a retail section which speaks to Limitless and the future site of Scarletts South.
this almost seems like a repeat of the mckennan park house fiasco.
“I think they should just leave it be, and then turn it into a movie setting”…. “I can imagine someone filming a movie there entitled: ‘Someday'”…… “The plot could be about a guy from Taupeville who invests too heavily in a hotel/ramp project, thus he doesn’t have enough money to finish his mansion, then succumbs to an early death after being struck by a ’57 Plymouth Fury on 85th Street while stumbling down the streets in deep depression”… “Paramedics try to save him, but 5 o’clock traffic on Western, plus the pothole dodging, causes the ambulance to not make it to the hospital on time, especially after the Sanford statue, which was just then struck by lightening and then falls, causes another traffic jam mess on 18th, which then doesn’t allow the ambulance to get to the ER in adequate time”…. (…”‘Someday’?”….. “Maybe the movie should be called: ‘Unfinished Business'”….. )
Come to think of it, maybe we could start a new economic development and tourism theme around unfinished projects in our fine city. We could offer a pamphlet/map to visitors, like the map of the houses of the stars in Hollywood, that would allow tourists to visit places like this mansion, the Bunker Ramp, the proposed new hog plant, and the offices of the city Art Director and Culture Chief. Instead of ‘Great Faces, Great Places’, our theme could be ‘Great Farces, Great Pasquinades’.
I hope the family that tried to build this mansion files a suit to have the Bunker Ramp demolished. It would only be fair, and what is it that they say about throwing rocks and living in a glass house?…. (Although, the city’s isn’t that transparent.)
Ya know, me thinks the city should focus on potholes. I spent 25 minutes in an ambulance between the VA Hospital and Avera. The drip tree with the monitors and I bounced around. The vehicle bottomed out.
If the city wants to play Feds at Waco, fix things that kill people first.
wudn’t selling ppl ways to drive up their web traffic how pth got his start
“Feds at Waco”, Ruby Ridge, ClubMed, Taco Maco: I’m not sure where this is going, but two mansions demolished in a decade is a trend. Who needs eminent domain, if you have a good lawyer? AND, don’t touch my Eggo, but Waffle House would be fine, especially if it’s waffling and could use some strong Leggos…. I’ll leave it with that, however, and just ban Miley and Dolly, who are the true enemies of the state, or would that be a house divided and then collapsed?…. But regardless, I’m sure we would all be more healthy, safe, and secure if Paltrow’s, troubles were as entertaining, or deep and understood, as Depp and Heard.
Ummm – re: your 2nd scenario – they can’t legally SELL a structure that has NOT met all the building code/inspection requirements. Which is the whole issue to begin with here. There is no real LEGAL option to the city (language of a variance ordinance would likely prohibit the granting of same) aside from following the city ordinances as written.
BTW – there is no such thing as “common sense gobernment”. There are legal and illegal acts a government may take. PERIOD. The whole “common sense” thing is just another way of saying corruption (illegal).
Five planets have finally aligned and Trump has finally been indicted. It all makes sense.
“333 NION”?
I can see the mayor using it as a selfie location.
Just let it be and have the local Jaycees use it as their annual haunted house…. #Hari-bourgeoisNordHorror
Birds eat seeds. Pigs eat suet. If the city of Sioux Falls says something, you know they are wanting to do it. The worship of mammon through campaign contributions and shoulder rubbings and the masturbating “reach around” have been going on since mankind invented the wheel. Sit back and watch the show!
“Is “NION” the French spelling of neon?”…. “‘333 NION’ sounds like a new bar in downtown SuFu”…. “Else, it could speak to a subconscious obsession with Nixon and the 333 is the result of 666 divided by two with the two being Nixon and Trump, who are synonymous”…..
The Pope is leaving the hospital and Trump is heading to jail. It’s the revolving door of life, where faith pays off for some, while the consequences of a pay off are another’s indebted fate.
Okay, so I’ve decided there are three types of Republicans. The first group we will call the Good Republicans, who know better, who are silent right now, but their value is as worthless as some good Germans who are too scared to help Ann Frank hide. Then the second group are the opportunists or Used Car Salesmen Republicans who are enablers to Trump’s message, especially concerning his reaction to his New York indictment. Now, these UCS Republicans will do and say anything to stay in power and will assure, along with the Good Republicans, that Trump will be the Republican nominee for President in 2024; and then go on and lose to Biden in the fall of 2024. Then there is the final group of GOPers, they are what Hillary called the deplorables. They are the dumbass fascists who think Trump is the second coming and they are willing to take themselves and the rest of the country over the cliff at any cost. The only thing this third group is missing, however, are some black and white Nike tennis shoes to wear for what they see as the soon and inevitable political rapture as soon as the comet and UFO show-yp…. Oh, and I almost forgot about Trump himself. Well, he’ll go down in history as only the second Republican to receive the Republican nomination three times for president in American history with the other being Richard Nixon…. Your honor, I rest my case.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/08/donald-trump-praised-by-former-president-nixon/
VSG