The Board of Regents has filed an eminent domain lawsuit on NIU’s behalf to acquire property between Lincoln Terrace and Lincoln Hwy. and Carroll Avenue and Normal Road.

The suit was filed Oct. 14 in the DeKalb County Courthouse, with the Regents, NIU’s governing board, serving as plaintiff and the owners of the four houses acting as the defendants, the suit states.

This action came about two months after NIU purchased land from the Wesley Foundation south of Founders Memorial Library and about a month after NIU President John LaTourette said the property south of Lincoln Terrace was “high on the priority list.”

The suit states the Regents, working on NIU’s behalf, have been involved in expanding the university and purchasing the necessary property. This land will be used by the public and is a public works, it states. The suit states the university will need the land south of Lincoln Terrace for this expansion.

University Legal Counsel George Shur said eminent domain is not used unless negotiations between all parties are unsuccessful. The two issues in this eminent domain case are whether the land has a legitimate university purpose and price, he said.

LaTourette said NIU would purchase the land using bond revenue. He said he did not remember how much money the university is offering for the property. The university might demolish the houses and replace them with another parking lot, keep the houses for academic purposes, or a combination of the two, he said.

“That’s a question we have to get into,” he said. “Two (of the houses) are pretty attractive, that could serve as a facility and still be a part of the university.”

Eddie Williams, vice president for finance and planning, was out of town Monday and unavailable for comment.

If the university is able to purchase the property, it will have to put a revenue-generating facility there. LaTourette said bond revenue still could be paid back even if some of the houses are retained by charging rent or fees to those who use them. That system exists with the Holmes Student Center, where organizations using meeting rooms have to pay a fee, he said. LaTourette cited three reasons why the university was interested in the property. The first was an interest “in an attractive and identifiable entrance to campus.” The only entrance NIU has is at Castle Drive near the East Lagoon, he said.

The president’s second reason was that “it’s an integral part of the campus.” LaTourette said earlier that the land is in the “thumb” area of campus.

The third reason is the need for more parking and building space. The earlier purchase from the Wesley Foundation is being used for parking.

Neither Shur nor Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said they knew how long the suit would take. Regents representative Michael Funkey would not comment, and the landowners’ representative, Gary Cordes, could not be reached for comment.