AUBURN -- For more than two years developers and the City of Auburn have been talking about building an $11 million hotel and convention center in downtown Auburn. When news recently leaked out that Auburn was considering using eminent domain to take over three downtown properties to give them to the developer - protests and rallies were held to challenge the idea. Now The Pioneer Companies, who want to develop the hotel, have adopted a new strategy. They're negotiating directly with the three owners who have property where they want to build.
Minutes before the Auburn Industrial Development Agency met on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the proposed downtown hotel , the owners of the New Shanghai Restaurant and developers from Pioneer agreed in principle to relocate the business without using eminent domain.
Another affected business, Wag 'In Tail Dog Grooming is also in talks with Pioneer to subdivide their lot and allow their business to stay where it is - but owner Renee Smith Ward doesn't like the fact eminent domain is still being considered.
"It's kind of like a knife to our throats right now and it's hanging over out heads right now so we hope to get that resolved quickly," says Smith-Ward.
While Renee Smith-Ward and her husband are open to negotiating with Pioneer so the hotel can be built, Michael Kazanivski isn't so sure. He owns a vacant property pioneer wants and made an impassioned plea to the city of auburn to allow him to develop his own plans for the site.
"Don't throw me out. Please. That's all I ask - don't throw me out," said Kazanivski.
The Auburn Industrial Development Agency voted to wait until may 5th to consider a vote on eminent domain. David Murphy from Pioneer said he hopes the issue will be moot by then.
"The board decided to give us a little more time to get this done and I think we'll get it done. I think there's great mutual respect between the owners and the development company and this is a great project for the city of auburn."
The owners of Wag 'In Tail dog grooming say they don't understand why Pioneer didn't just negotiate directly with them with them when the plans started two years ago.
