Eminent domain isn't a punishment. The lender's interest is solely financial so they should be theoretically indifferent so long as they are compensated at mark

Eminent domain isn't a punishment. The lender's interest is solely financial so they should be theoretically indifferent so long as they are compensated at market value. The reason they care (and the reason the situation doesn't resolve itself without outside intervention) is that they're dependent on reporting improbably high property and loan values in order to not appear insolvent. The city doesn't care about this and is uninterested in punishing it, but they are interested in getting a large chunk of their tax base out of legal limbo and they have the legal right to do so. This article makes a good rundown about how this is an unremarkable taking and likely to succeed in court: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-16/eminent-domain-isn-t-government-run-amok.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-16/eminent-domain-isn-...