Fresno Business Owner Challenges City’s Eminent Domain Seizure for McKinley-Blackstone Project

Art Terzian, who has run A&T Ceramics near McKinley and Blackstone Avenues since 1995, is fighting the City of Fresno’s use of eminent domain to take his building for a grade separation project at that intersection.

“They need my building just to direct the traffic until they finish the project,” Terzian said. He claims the city has refused to properly compensate him for the property.

Fresno City Attorney Andrew Janz tells a different story. “We’ve tried for over two years to come to some sort of agreement with Mr. Terzian,” Janz said. “He’s been very unwilling to work with the city. We’ve set aside millions of dollars to remove his tiles, to even purchase the building from him.”

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The dispute centers on what Terzian considers the replacement value of the property inside the building. But according to Janz, a lien on the property means Terzian no longer has a financial interest in it.

Documents indicate Terzian owes over $15 million stemming from a lawsuit filed against him last year. Janz also says Terzian is facing multiple felony charges related to that lawsuit.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office plans to auction off tile remaining inside the building Monday morning at 9 a.m. at 1780 E. McKinley in an effort to recover some of the money Terzian owes.

The Breakdown

• The City of Fresno acquired Terzian’s property through eminent domain (government’s legal power to take private property for public use) for a planned grade separation project at McKinley and Blackstone
• Terzian claims inadequate compensation; the city says it has spent two years negotiating and set aside millions for his tiles and building purchase
• A lien on the property means Terzian may no longer have a financial stake in it, according to the city attorney
• Terzian owes over $15 million from a separate lawsuit and faces related felony charges
• The sheriff’s office will auction the tile inventory Monday to recover some of that debt

What This Means for You

This case shows how eminent domain works when a property owner and the city can’t agree on fair compensation for a public project.

What to Watch

Eminent domain disputes nearly always come down to competing stories about good faith. The city says it spent two years negotiating and set aside millions. The business owner says he wasn’t properly compensated.

Without a transparent public record of every offer made, every counteroffer rejected, and every appraisal conducted, voters have no way to judge who’s telling the truth. Did the city genuinely try to make this right, or did it slow-walk negotiations knowing it held all the leverage?

There’s also this: the city attorney points to Terzian’s legal troubles — a $15 million debt, felony charges, a lien that may wipe out his financial interest — as if that settles the compensation question.

Does a business owner lose the right to fair value for what the government takes simply because he’s in financial or legal trouble? Or does the city’s timeline look just a little too convenient — moving on a property right as its owner’s ability to fight back collapses?

Watch whether the city releases a full accounting of what it offered, when, and what independent appraisals said the property was worth. And watch whether this becomes a pattern: other property owners near future projects pushed out under similar circumstances, their ability to hold out eroded by time and legal costs the city can outlast.