[12/4/03]Vicksburg officials have been told to pony up $400,000 for the Rocking Horse Motors land sought for urban renewal, but say they may withdraw the offer.

After three days of testimony in an eminent domain case, a Warren County jury returned a unanimous verdict Wednesday for the amount, nearly twice the appraised value the city had offered for land at 20 N. Washington St., where owner Mike Kavanaugh operates a used car dealership.

“I think that the jury took everything into consideration, and I’m very pleased with their decision,” Kavanaugh said. “Now we can at least downsize and try to find another location.”

The tract is at the north entrance into the city’s $8.2 million downtown makeover, now under way. City officials said the used car dealership added to the slum and blight in that area and called it a strategic property in the project. The offer was $214,500 for the 79,000-square-foot parcel on the east and west sides of Washington Street at First East. North Ward Alderman Gertrude Young, who represented the city board during the trial, said they may rethink their plans.

“We’re not fixing to pull up a moving truck,” Young said.

South Ward Alderman Sid Beauman, who was also present for most of the trial, said he and Young would have to speak with Mayor Laurence Leyens before deciding if the city will buy the property. Leyens was not at the trial.

Jurors heard expert testimony from real estate appraisers for the city and for Kavanaugh as well as visiting the property themselves. Attorneys had stipulated Vicksburg had the power to take the land for fair market price and Warren County Court Judge Johnny Price told jurors their role was to set that price.

Jimmy Hamilton, a real estate appraiser for Kavanaugh, testified the value was $785,000, basing the valuation on the sales of five properties in Vicksburg. One was a 39,521-square-foot parcel at 1905 Mission 66, bought for a McDonald’s in 1993 for $322,877, or about $8.17 per square foot.

“Wouldn’t you agree that a fast-food chain like McDonald’s would pay a lot more for property on Clay Street than for property on Washington Street?” asked City Associate Attorney Bobby Robinson.

“McDonald’s would not buy Mr. Kavanaugh’s property and Mr. Kavanaugh would not buy McDonald’s property,” Hamilton said. “McDonald’s buys property based on how many hamburgers they can sell … and Mr. Kavanaugh, I’m sure, bought his property based on how many cars he could sell.”

Kavanaugh attorney Jerry Campbell had argued that the city should pay more for the North Washington Street property because its unique location provided Kavanaugh with better business opportunities. The used car dealership is at the north entrance into downtown and is the main route between the central business district and the Vicksburg Harbor and Kings.

The average daily count on North Washington near Kavanaugh’s property is 7,700 cars, according to a Mississippi Department of Transportation report. The count on Clay Street at Mission 66 is 14,000.

Wayne Thornton, who appraised the property for the city, had testified Tuesday that Kavanaugh’s property is worth $2.79 per square foot plus $14,000 for one building. His appraisal was based on comparisons with five other real estate transaction in Vicksburg, but none of those had involved new retail developments.

City plans for Kavanaugh’s property had been to create a landscaped entrance into the area that includes a downtown park, a railroad museum and a U.S. Corps of Engineers museum.

In all, the city had planned to acquire 48 properties during the next 10 years and sell them to people who pledge to improve them or set them aside for public use. Plans also called for 20 businesses to be moved including Rocking Horse Motors.

Another property the city is seeking to take using eminent domain is the Discount Furniture Barn, 600 Jackson St. The city offered owners Henry Heggins and T.D. Easterling $125,000 for the property, but they have also chosen to let a jury decide.

Heggins’ daughter and owner of the business, Mary Landers, was in the courtroom every day of the Rocking Horse Motors lawsuit and seemed almost as happy as Kavanaugh about the verdict.

“We knew all along that if it could go to the jury and to the public that they would understand the business owners’ perspective,” Landers said.

A hearing for the Discount Furniture Barn is scheduled Tuesday in Warren County Court, but Robinson said the city may ask for a delay.