Notes from 4th and Pierce: a Phoenix realtor's take on the ASU eminent domain case

A Phoenix realtor's note from 4th and Pierce.

I'm driving down there this afternoon to see this in person. Felt important enough to look at with my own eyes before saying anything more.

Photo: Cami Hatch / The State Press

The Louis Emerson House, pictured above (photo: Cami Hatch / The State Press), has stood at that corner of downtown Phoenix since 1902. It was built by a butcher named Louis Emerson. It's one of the last surviving pre-statehood single-family homes in central Phoenix. The City of Phoenix added it to the Historic Property Register in May 1990.

The man who lives there is Robert Young. He's 89 years old. He bought the place around 1975, before a career that ran from criminal defense law to real estate. He still lives in the home with his wife. His tenant of eight years, Barry Schwartz, rents from him and is also named in the lawsuit.

The Arizona Board of Regents filed for eminent domain on June 11 on behalf of ASU. The university needs the parcel to complete the block for its new health headquarters and the John Shufeldt School of Medicine. ASU started with an offer of $815,000. They later raised it to $999,000. Robert Young turned them down. He has said moving the home, which ASU offered to support, would cost between $2 and $3 million for the relocation and a new foundation. The home was already moved about a hundred feet once in the 1990s. A petition to save it from demolition has crossed 3,800 signatures. The next court hearing is scheduled for June 19, 2026, in Maricopa County Superior Court.

What FOX 10 captured on site

FOX 10 Phoenix sent reporter Taylor Wirtz to the property and ran a segment featuring on-camera interviews. Embedded below for the full segment:

A short clip from the segment showing one defendant outside the home:

Clip via FOX 10 Phoenix.

Marshall Shore, identified by FOX 10 as "Arizona's Hip Historian," summed up the preservation argument on camera: "If they want this property, it comes with a house, and we can't just shirk that responsibility of that history." He suggested ASU incorporate the home into the campus instead of demolishing it: "Instead of treating it like an eyesore, turn it into a crown jewel."

What it means for property owners across the Phoenix metro

A few things worth holding onto if you own property anywhere in the Phoenix metro area:

Property ownership and the right to refuse a sale are not the same thing when a public authority has a competing claim. That is a fact, not an opinion, under Arizona law. The legal process to resolve it exists. It starts with negotiation, with appraisals on both sides, and with the owner's right to challenge whether the taking meets the public-use standard at all. Owners who know that the negotiation stage is real, not the moment to capitulate, end up in a different position than owners who walk in believing the answer is already fixed.

Watching the Louis Emerson case unfold has practical value because it shows the process happening in real time on a public sidewalk in Phoenix. It is not theoretical. The June 19 hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court is public.

Sources: AZFamily / KTVK, FOX 10 Phoenix, Phoenix New Times, The State Press, KTAR (June 2026 coverage).

Feel free to contact me through previewarizonahomes.com/contact if you want to discuss this further, or with any questions about how eminent domain works in Arizona.

Jon Hegreness, REALTOR / Associate Broker, Howe Realty
(623) 826-0888 · JonHegreness@gmail.com · License BR540940000
9059 W Lake Pleasant Pkwy, B-200, Peoria, AZ 85382
PreviewArizonaHomes.com