The city has filed a lawsuit against a church where the city hopes to build a new soccer stadium for Orlando City Soccer.
The city confirmed the eminent domain lawsuit against Faith Deliverance Temple Tuesday.
Orlando spokesperson Heather Fagan issued this statement:
"We have spent the last year trying to work with the Williams family [which owns the church]. The City was willing to pay the Williams family a fair amount--substantially more than the appraised value plus relocation costs, but the City has to balance this with our duty to safeguard the assets of the City. When the Williams family retreated to their original demand of over $30 million we had no choice but to take this issue to the courts for resolution."
The city had offered the church $1.5 million, which the church rejected in favor of the $30 million. The property is valued at around $700,000.
Back in January, a judge ruled the city could take the land using eminent domain.
The city wants the land to build a $115 million stadium for the Orlando City Lions. The property is on church Street, not far from Amway Center.