In a stunning loss for Old Dominion University, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority did not have the right to condemn a nearby apartment building for ODU’s expansion.
The decision, which reversed a Circuit Court ruling, could mean the end of a bitter and long-running fight between ODU and three holdout business owners who have fought for years to stay on their land, even as property owners all around them ceded.
PKO Ventures, the owner of the apartments, will get back its 10-unit building, which was emptied of its tenants last year.
The ruling also likely will mean that two other businesses, Central Radio and Norva Plastics, will get to stay on their land, said their lawyer, Joe Waldo.
“It’s over,” he said. “I think this makes it very clear that the authority never existed for these condemnations.”
The Tea Party was instrumental in passing the reform to Eminent Domain last year. This is the fruit of our labors.
![Debbie Pavon outside of Central Radio Co.](http://www.yuriar.com/conservakat/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2014/02/DebbiePavon-crci.jpg")