After months of unfavorable publicity, Arizona State University has decided to put an end to an eminent domain action centering on the removal of a 124-year-old residential property.
Located in the city’s Evans-Churchill neighborhood at 623 N. 4th Street, the Louis Emerson home sits on a larger site seeing the construction of a 170,000-square-foot, $200 million ASU medical education facility.
Listed on the Phoenix Historical Property Register, the house is regarded as an example of the Queen Anne architectural style that was once so prevalent in the city.
After Robert Young, owner of the home, rejected an $850,000 offer from ASU, the university announced its intention to secure the property through the process of eminent domain, the legality of which was set to be decided upon by the Maricopa Superior County Court in early September.
But last week the university announced that it was withdrawing from the eminent domain proceedings. By so doing, ASU said in a statement, “the plans for the ASU Health site will be revised accordingly.”
The support for keeping the house intact and at its current location sparked a $3 million fundraising campaign as well as some 12,000 signatures on a petition opposing ASU’s plans.
The new school facility, officially called the John Schufeldt School of Medicine, is expected to be completed in time for the fall 2028 semester.
July 20, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Change.org
