Biersdorf & Associates Project # 3268.001
Purchase agreements have finally been reached with the property owners affected by the Flight 93 National Memorial and construction is scheduled to begin in November.
The government will pay $9.5 million for the land in order for the memorial to be built in time for the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The National Park Service expects to close on seven of the eight properties this October, and the first phase of construction will begin in November. Construction for this phase is anticipated to cost around $23 million.
The Federal court will determine the price of the last parcel, hopefully under mutual agreements with the property owner.
August 5, 2009
After discussions last week, the National Park Service has successfully negotiated prices for five of the seven properties needed for the Flight 93 memorial. Two properties remain still remain to complete the memorial; however these properties are outside the government’s jurisdiction.
The two properties total 320 acres and are central to the planned memorial because they are on the actual site where Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001.
The government will solicit construction bids for the memorial August 17 and contracts will be awarded November 6, according to the superintendent of the National Park Service.
June 16, 2009
The U.S. government announced that it would not resort to eminent domain to seize land in Somerset, PA for the proposed Flight 93 memorial.
The U. S. Supreme Court affirmed the government’s right to condemn the land for the memorial, but it was questionable whether the memorial outweighed the rights of the current land owners.
The government has declined to seize the final 500 acres for the memorial and national park.
Information on this post was taken from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reports from Tony Norman.
June 11, 2009
Individuals who own land designated for the Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania have one week to reach an agreement on the sale of their land, according to the federal government.
The decision was made last week in order to keep construction on track for the memorial, which is anticipated to be completed by the 10-year anniversary of 9/11.
Landowners will receive fair market value for their properties, according to the Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar.
“After meeting with the landowners and the Park Service today, I have high hopes that the parties are close to agreement and will be able to reach consensus over the land in the next week so we can keep the memorial on track without using eminent domain,” said Salazar.
To read the full story, click here.
May 18, 2009
Two members of the Flight 93 Federal Advisory Commission have resigned their posts due to their disagreement with the National Park Service’s plan to condemn private property to build the memorial.
Somerset County Commissioner Pamela Tokar-Ickes and Stoneycreek Township Supervisor Gregory Walker both turned in their letters of resignation last week when the announcement of the condemnations were made.
“I have tried to support all that the advisory board had to deal with, but now it is simply time to depart,” wrote Walker.
Tokar-Ickes expressed she was leaving her post “with deep sadness.”
It is not clear when the positions will be refilled.
May 7, 2009
The National Park Service will condemn 500 acres of land needed to build a Flight 93 memorial in western Pennsylvania.
The Service claims it will proceed with condemnation since negotiations have failed so far and it wants the memorial to be done by the tenth anniversary of 9/11.
Flight 93 was one of the targeted aircrafts of the 2001 terrorist attacks. It was meant to fly from Newark, NJ to San Francisco when terrorists hijacked the plane. It crashed in PA after passengers wrestled the hijackers for control of the cockpit.
For more information on this project, call us at 866.339.7242.
Click here to hear a radio interview with some of the affected property owners.
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