INDOT reverses US 31 farm market eminent domain; owner says fight not over
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A farm market will continue operating after INDOT reversed its decision to use eminent domain to seize and raze the building as part of its U.S. 31 streamline project.
Wilson Farm Market was slated to be demolished sometime around December 2024, but the state transportation authority said public response moved it to redesign its cul-de-sac and withdraw its attempt to acquire the property. While owner Scott Wilson calls the decision a win, he said his fight was never about his business or the building.
“It was never about the building,” Wilson told Inside INdiana Business. “We are going to self-sacrifice.”
The Wilson Farm Market is located at 256th Street and U.S. 31 in its trademark red roof build with a blue and yellow road sign that, for the time being, has read, “Politicians eminent domain is not freedom.”
The original plan was to cul-de-sac the road and level the building with it. In the revised design plan, Wilson said the cul-de-sac will be positioned differently, so the building is not impacted.
Wilson went live on Facebook for about three minutes Tuesday to tell his customers the business is staying put because of the feedback many of them contributed. He encouraged his customers and those listening to email INDOT, elected officials, the school board and local public safety agencies to push to keep an exchange at the intersection. The live video garnered over 1,200 comments and 4,000 likes showing their support.
“Now the shackles are off,” Wilson said in the Facebook Live. “We’re not going anywhere, and I’m going to keep raising all kinds of hell.”
Now that he doesn’t have to worry about relocating his business, Wilson said he can fully focus on lobbying for an exchange that he said is an important gateway for public safety. He previously told IIB that a significant portion of people in the area will be underserved when it comes to emergency response.
The Wilsons and other community members have expressed concerns online and in public meetings about how the project is causing more accidents in the interim but also that it could delay emergency response times when roads are dead-ended and traffic is funneled.
Wilson said the interchange will be crucial to not significantly impact emergency response times for residents and the schools in the area. He said another local resident tested out what the additional time could be tacked onto the response, which amounted to about eight minutes.
“It’s really going to strangle response times,” he said. “There’s no solution to traveling extra miles”
INDOT said previously it has worked to reduce impacts on response times with local public safety agencies, and their feedback was used when designing the project. Derek Arrowood, superintendent of the Hamilton Heights School Corp., also previously said the school district has no concerns regarding slowed emergency response times.
INDOT said in a previous statement that the U.S. 31 Limited Access Project strives to reduce wrecks along the corridor, which was shown to be needed after a 2018-2020 traffic study. The agency said the data showed about 11 crashes per mile per year.
The project stretches from S.R. 38 to 286th Street, spanning about 7.5 miles. Two interchanges are currently under construction at 236th and 276th Streets. Other work on overpasses and cul-de-sacs will begin in the latter part of 2024, INDOT said in the statement.
Specifically for the 236th Street interchange, INDOT reported eminent domain caused 20 houses and one commercial property to vacate. In total, the project will affect 38 parcels, of which 14 went through condemnation, which is the process when an agreement is not found and usually heads to court.
In a statement to IIB Wednesday, INDOT said it has frequently communicated with Wilson throughout the process and asked him for feedback on the revised design. When construction begins in the area, it said the safety and mobility improvements made to the road in the area will avoid the farm market.
Wilson disagrees that INDOT has adequately communicated with him. He said he initially found out his property was being seized through a public meeting and was not given an avenue to give direct feedback to the project wiping his building. Additionally, he said he was never given an appraisal or offer during the now-moot eminent domain process.
Moving forward, Wilson said the outpouring of support for his business has been overwhelming, and his phone has been blowing up since his video message Tuesday, dinging while he was on the phone with IIB. He said he hopes to channel that support toward overturning the decision to cul-de-sac the interchange.
“Plans changed as a result of community input,” he said. “Locals can go toe-to-toe.”