“Not interested.”

That was the reply from the owners of the Pentacrest Garden apartment complex concerning whether they wanted to sell their property to the UI for the new Hancher/Voxman/Clapp complex.

It was a blunt and stinging rebuke to the UI community — a community hopeful that the downtown location could be a possible spot for the School of Music.

This newfound obstacle places at the forefront an option that will further split the opposing parties: eminent domain.

The owners of the apartment complex have every legal right not to sell to this university. It is their property and theirs to do with as they choose. However, the UI has the right to use eminent domain to secure the property for their disposal. The only requirement is that the university pay fair market price for the land.

In the past, the Editorial Board has been unsupportive of the university’s possible use of eminent domain. It would be a public relations nightmare for the university to try to justify their actions to a community that desperately needs the property taxes this land provides the city.

The owners of the property have left the UI in one of its toughest positions in recent history. The UI has never used eminent domain to overtake a residential or commercial property in Iowa City. And some hope that trend continues.

Unfortunately for those who back the use of eminent domain, the city and many UI officials seem to be growing ever closer in putting their full support behind this option.

Mayor Regina Bailey told the DI that the benefits of the site outweigh the loss of $110,000 in property taxes.

Mayor Bailey is correct in assuming that position. The amount of money that will be funneled into the local economy from having such a large facility downtown will be a windfall for Iowa City.

Nonetheless, we should hope that the decision to use eminent domain is a last resort for the university. Personally, I think the downtown site is the more attractive option. But if we continue to bicker and fight over the future location of Hancher, then this issue becomes more troublesome than is necessary.

—by Michael Davis