Downtown parking enjoys escalating real estate values

For more than 55 years, attorney Mark Hurwitz practiced law in a downtown building he owned. His property included an adjacent area for parking one or two cars. Hurwitz learned the city planned to erect a curb to block access to his parking area. So he filed a lawsuit to obtain an injunction to bar the city from constructing the curb. Purchase Bob Bruss reports online. The injunction was granted by the court. But the city ignored the injunction and constructed a curb blocking access to Hurwitz's parking area. Later, the city held a public hearing and determined the Hurwitz parking area was a public nuisance. Hurwitz argued the space had been accident-free for more than 50 years. Then the city sought eminent domain condemnation to permanently block the parking area. The dispute went to trial. The city expert testified the value of the parking area was only $1,000. But Hurwitz's expert testified it was worth at least $150,000 because it was in the downtown area where parking spac...