Bowers Development will move forward with the construction of a medical office building in Utica, N.Y., following an eminent domain battle with the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, according to a Dec. 27 report from WKTV.
Oneida tried to take the property from Bowers by eminent domain, planning to build its own medical office development. The New York State Supreme Court sided with Bowers, allowing it to keep the land and move forward with its project, which broke ground on Dec. 17.
"It has always been our contention that taking private property from one developer to give to another developer was highly unethical and OCIDA did not have the authority to perform such an action. The New York State Supreme Court clearly agreed with our position," Bowers told WKTV in a Dec. 27 statement. "At this time, we are excited to move forward with our proposed medical office building plans and continue to remain optimistic that we will be able to meet with MVHS to engage in collaborative discussions relative to enhancing the development of the downtown area surrounding the new Wynn Hospital."