Judge Says City of Philadelphia Can Take Artist's Studio, Turn It Into Grocery Store

The Huffington Post ^ | 11/05/2014 | Evan Bernick

[Bettyprob]

James Dupree is a world-renowned artist and native son of Philadelphia, who is about to see his art studio turned into a grocery store, thanks to the rubber-stamp review that passes for judging when his city exercises the power of eminent domain.

James' artistic accomplishments are truly awesome. He has five paintings in the permanent collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Others can be found in the National Museum of Art in Cardiff, Wales; the Schomberg Museum in New York; the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

You can see the Philadelphia Museum of Art from James' studio. It is located in the Mantua neighborhood of West Philadelphia, where James grew up. The studio was a dilapidated warehouse when he purchased it for a little under $200,000. He spent $60,000 installing new electrical equipment and plumbing, $68,000 on roof repairs, and thousands more on renovations, furnishings and appliances.

The investment paid off, for James and for Mantua. What was once a dead, abandoned building is now alive and bustling with activity. James has hosted and taught art classes at his studio and has plans to start a mentorship program in order to give artists an environment where they "can create serious work and receive the support and freedom to explore new ideas."

[GeronL]

BUMP!

[dead]

Good for him, the little guy won one for a change.

While we have explored the potential of building around Mr. Dupree's property, a viable project under these conditions is not possible. In short, the inability to acquire Mr. Dupree's property puts the prospect of bringing fresh food to this community at serious risk."

Yes, because Philly has almost no vacant lots or abandoned buildings. Just out of curiosity, I went to Google maps and looked at his address. Look what I saw across the street from his studio.

[Pollster1]

The city has offered Dupree $600,000, plus expenses for the property.

Thank you for the update.

I don't think much of Dupree's art, but that is irrelevant. If a private business wants to buy his property, they can make him an offer high enough that he wants to sell. To simply steal his property, taking it by government force for less than the value he places on his property, is immoral. It probably would have been cheaper to buy the property honestly, to offer enough that he wanted to sell, but that's not the way today's corrupt businessmen work (Note: I'm not implying that most businessmen are corrupt, just that the ones who use government force to generate revenue are all corrupt). I'm glad the artist won.

[Albion Wilde]

Look what I saw across the street from his studio.

Amazing! I have to agree that there was some back room deal seriously interrupted by this online organizing. Lots of eyes on the issue. Amazing how that works...

[Albion Wilde]

More updates:

Before the decision was made, video showing a lot of the art: ME-TV Philadelphia Report: Eminent Domain

Philly Magazine article: James Dupree Will Get to Keep His Mantua Art Studio