How much was it worth, and when was it worth it? That’s the question being fought out in Maricopa Superior Court in a heated battle between Toll Brothers Homebuilders and the City of Scottsdale [Thanks M!]
Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. faced off Wednesday with Scottsdale, opening one of the priciest condemnation lawsuits in Arizona history.
The $73 million, high-stakes case launched on an emotional note, with Toll Brothers attorney Dale Zeitlin objecting twice to Scottsdale’s opening statement and then demanding a mistrial.
It was denied by Maricopa Superior Court Judge Paul A. Katz.
Both attorneys agreed that the nine jurors will decide one single point after a two-week battle of appraisers - what was the fair market value of a piece of land Scottsdale seized on Jan. 16, 2004, for the city’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Toll says the site at Thompson Peak Parkway and Bell Road was worth $107 million.
Scottsdale values it closer to $34 million.
In a nutshell, here’s what happened:
Toll bought the 783-acre parcel at a state trust-land auction in 2002, after Scottsdale had informed bidders that the city would take the eastern half of the site for the Gateway entrance to the preserve.
Scottsdale had hoped for a quick flip, not much above the final auction price of $87,000 an acre.
Toll had other calculations for the fair market value of the land, and the two sides have been locked in a bitter feud ever since.
The Republic allows readers to blog this article, and I kind of liked the solution offered by poster "marcy4053":
Nice trick, buy the entire parcel knowing that the city wants 1/2 and then offer to sell them that 1/2 for more than you paid for the whole thing.
Toll just needs the cash because their business is coming apart at the seams and they are bleeding red ink.
Scottsdale might want to consider dropping the condemnation lawsuit and picking up the parcel at a bankruptcy sale. In the meantime they could short sell $87M worth of TOL stock and reap double the rewards when they go belly up.
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