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Posted on 06/11/2026 6:29:47 AM PDT by DFG
As Arizona State University moves forward with plans for a new downtown health headquarters, a Phoenix homeowner is fighting to preserve what he says is a historically significant home that has stood for more than a century.
Two months after city and state leaders' broke ground on ASU’s new health headquarters at the corner of Fourth Street and Fillmore Street, 89-year-old Robert Young remains determined to save the Louise Emerson House, a 124-year-old property in the Evans-Churchill neighborhood.
“It is rich in history, and what we call historical significance, and it starts with the person who created this house,” Young said.
Young has owned the home since 1975 and says he has spent decades preserving its history. He describes the property as unique because of its ties to early Phoenix development.
“I would describe it as being a one of a kind, because Clark Churchill decided that he was going to have an important connection with a street railway right here, it was called the, it was called the Brill edition,” Young said.
The university plans to build a five-story facility that will house the John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Engineering. The building is expected to open in fall 2028.
The Phoenix resident's property is the only parcel that has not been secured for the project. He said he has not seen evidence that his home cannot remain while the development moves forward.
“I had seen no drawings, nothing to show that this can't live in compliance with their plans,” he said.
Young said he is not opposed to relocating the home, but believes the compensation offered by the university is insufficient.
“I think that what was on the table was 800,000. I can't move it for 800,000. Then you got, you got to take down all this stuff around it. You got to pay for the land where it goes to. It's not realistic,” Young said.
On behalf of ASU, the Arizona Board of Regents has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court seeking eminent domain authority over Young’s property.
In a statement provided to 12News, ASU said, “...the university made several offers to the owner to purchase the parcel, including options allowing for the house to be moved. The university’s final offer was based on an appraisal prepared by an experienced, state-certified appraiser, a copy of which was provided to the property owner. The offers were not accepted.”
Young said he struggles to understand why officials would move forward with demolition of a home he believes has significant historical value.
“It's hard to believe that this house has been either here or where the manhole cover was for 124 years, and you know that should be, I would think somebody in the ASU, the city of Phoenix would say, ‘Hey, look, this is a huge mistake you're making,’” he said.
The Arizona Board of Regents, which governs ASU, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from 12News.
A judge is scheduled to hear the case June 19 and will decide the fate of Young’s property.
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Eminent domain should be used for public projects only. Building highways, new military bases, etc. It should not be used for anything else.
So this guy doesn’t want to sell to some university. Well, too bad for the university. Go build somewhere else.
Or maybe sweeten the deal. Offer more money. And offer to move the house (that should be a doable thing). And if the guy still says no, go build somewhere else.
Is a brick house easy to move? Because she is a ... brick house!
There was an old man in Southeast DC who had a small house and lot. He steadfastly refused to sell. When Sears was done with him, his house was surrounded by black asphalt right up to the fence line.
> It is a state University. <
Yes. But I don’t think that magically gives them a trump card to claim whatever land they want. (Will a judge disagree with me? You betcha.)
Building a highway or a railroad line is different. There is usually only one best route.
Side story: I live in an old mill town. During WW2 the mills used eminent domain to expand along the river - mills had to be located there because coal came up in barges. Whole streets were bought, then razed. Everybody understood.
But this university action? Not the same thing.
Reminds me of Suzette Kelso in New London, Connecticut. The original project for which they filed eminent domain never happened.
Not easy at all. But doable if you really want to.
Ain’t that something!
In Connecticut, the offer would always be 30% below market value, because the state figured that a lawyer to challenge would take 30%, so the victim had no choice but to take it.
$800,000 for that house in that section can easily buy a nicer house in a nicer area (downtown Tempe isn’t great unless you are a business).
While I think it would be better to build around the house, and preserve the character, the compensation sounds just to me.
In my 23 years of delivering mail in the country, I saw 2 maybe 3 houses moved. Moving day is an exciting day, and for me, full of anxiety because I can’t believe it is not going to fall apart. There was always at least one railroad crossing involved because the Norfolk Southern goes right through north central Indiana.
Lots of times it isn’t about the compensation.
Tempe might not be g
a good biz area
But this is taking place in Phoenix.
A non-White Muslim arsonist should relieve himself of years of Judeo-Christian hegemony and take care of it.
The university could then give him an honorary doctorate.
Ooops. My brain got stuck on the Peterson House, and there is a similar address in Phoenix.
There are several houses about that old in that part of Phoenix, (check 5th Street and Fillmore, though looking around it that might get leveled, too). Not too far from there are a number of poorly kept up crappy houses from about that era or a little later. Pre-WW II in any event from the looks of them.
It looks to be a well built house, and it is cute. I just don’t know if it is worthy of being marked for historical preservation. I will admit that the land in downtown Phoenix’ value does escalate the value. Depending on the size of the lot, $800K might be a low ball offer after all. Typical.
I lost my half cre river front property to eminent domain claims for a park bathroom and parking lot. This began my absolute hatred for government.
Any land confiscated by the state should be forever prohibited from generating revenue for gubmint. This would remove the conflict of interest.
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