This is Kenn Dowell. Cleveland born. Glenville raised. And never afraid to say what needs to be said.
I’m not gonna hold you long — but what I’m about to share with you is something every person in this city needs to hear.
I want to tell you a story.
Before I get into it let me tell you where I’m coming from.
I am a Black man. I grew up in this city. I have spent my entire life working in and around politics, community, and civic power. So when I look at any situation involving government taking people’s property — I look at it through that lens. Not because everything is about race. But because I know my history. And my history tells me that when the government has the power to take what you own — Black people have always been the ones who paid the highest price.
Now some people will look at this situation on Madison Avenue and say — Kenn, the property owner is not Black. So why are you bringing race into it?
Here is my answer.
This is not about the race of the property owner. This is about the tool being used. It is about where that tool is being used. And it is about who is going to feel the long-term effects of normalizing that tool in our communities.
When elected officials who represent majority Black districts stand up and say the city should use eminent domain more — more often, more aggressively, to push the kind of development they want to see — I need you to understand what that means for you. For your home. For your block. For the property you have been saving up to buy.
So yes. I am going to tell this story from a Black perspective. Because that is the only honest perspective I have. And because the community I serve deserves to understand not just what is happening — but what it could mean for all of us if we let it go unchecked.
Now let me take you back. Because this story did not start on Madison Avenue.
It started a long time ago.
Back in the 1950s and 60s the government had a plan. They called it urban renewal.
Sounds good right? Renewal. Like something getting better.
But here is what it really was.
The government used a legal tool called eminent domain — which basically means the power to take your property — and they used it to bulldoze Black neighborhoods all across America. They took Black owned homes. Black owned businesses. Black churches. Black community centers.
They said it was for the public good. They said they were building highways. Building progress. Building a better city.
What they were really doing was moving Black people out of the way.
In Cleveland it happened right here. Neighborhoods full of life — full of Black families who owned their homes and ran their businesses — got wiped out. People got paid pennies on the dollar for what their property was worth. And if they fought back the government dragged them through the courts until they ran out of money and gave up.
That is the history of eminent domain in Black America.
It is not ancient history. It is recent. It is documented. And it is a warning.
Hold that history in your mind as I tell you what is happening right now. Today. In 2026. On Madison Avenue on the west side of Cleveland.
Now here is where it gets real.
There is a piece of property at 10022 Madison Avenue in the Cudell neighborhood. Used to be a CVS. Sat vacant after CVS shut it down.
A local businessman — a Cleveland resident — bought that property in January 2024. Paid $575,000 for it. By the time he was done preparing it for development he had close to a million dollars tied up in that corner.
Here is the part most people do not know.
He did not go looking for that property.
A sitting Cleveland City Council member — the elected representative for that area — came to him and asked him to buy it. The pitch was simple. Buy the property. Put a gas station there. I will get it rezoned. I will handle it.
So this gentleman did what most of us would do when an elected official tells you they can make something happen. He trusted it. He invested in it.
But it did not work out.
The council member tried to push through the rezoning. The community pushed back. It never happened. The council member could not deliver what he promised. And that council member is no longer in office.
So now this man is left holding a property he never would have bought if nobody had asked him to. Close to a million dollars invested. Plans that never got off the ground. And the city — the same government that created this situation — has decided they want that property for a new fire station.
Let me say that again so it lands.
He would not own this property if an elected official had not asked him to buy it. He never went looking for trouble. Trouble found him — wearing a suit and carrying a city business card.
Now let me tell you something about who this man is.
He is not some out of town corporation with deep pockets and a team of lawyers.
He is a Cleveland resident. Lives just a couple miles from that property. Has owned and operated several gas stations across this city for years. And not one of those stations has the kind of problems people like to attach to gas stations in our neighborhoods. No loitering. No crime reputation. No community complaints. Clean operations. Well maintained.
In fact during the City Council hearing on this very matter Councilman Joe Jones stood up and spoke about this man directly. He said this gentleman came into his neighborhood and took over a gas station that had been a problem for years. Put over two million dollars into fixing it up. Cleaned it up. Lit it up. Turned it into something the neighborhood could be proud of.
Councilman Jones said — and I want you to hear this — that this man is by far the best gas station operator he has ever dealt with in his neighborhood.
This is not a bad actor. This is a Cleveland businessman who invests with care and operates with integrity.
And this is the man the city is trying to force off his property.
Now here is where it gets complicated.
The city says they need that property to build a new Fire Station 23. And I want to be honest — that argument has real merit. The current Fire Station 23 down the street is in dangerous condition. We are going to get deep into that in Post 2. And what was revealed at that city council hearing about the health conditions inside that building should make every single person in this city angry.
But here is the problem.
The city’s appraisal says that property is worth $635,000.
The owner’s independent appraisal says it is worth between $1.7 million and $2.2 million.
That is not a small gap. That is over a million dollar difference.
The city offered $1,025,000. The owner said no. And now Cleveland has started eminent domain proceedings — the legal process to take his property whether he agrees or not.
And here is the part that should make every property owner in this city pay attention.
In the same week council voted to authorize negotiations with the owner — they also voted to move forward with eminent domain proceedings. Both things happened at the same time.
Think about what that means.
The city is telling this man — we want to sit down and work this out — while at the same time starting the legal process to take his property by force.
That is not a negotiation. That is a negotiation with a gun on the table.
And one of the council members pushing hardest for this stood up in that hearing and said — on the public record — that the city should be using eminent domain more often. Not just for fire stations. But to push and incentivize the kind of development the city wants to see.
Those words. From an elected official. In a majority Black district. Using a tool that was built to take from us.
I have a lot more to say about that. But that is coming in Post 2.
So why am I telling you this?
Because this is not just about one man and one building on Madison Avenue.
This is about you.
If you own a home in Cleveland — this could be your home.
If you own a business in Cleveland — this could be your business.
If you have ever trusted an elected official to guide you into an investment in this city — this story should stop you cold.
The moment you understand how eminent domain works is the moment you stop being a bystander and start being somebody who cannot be pushed around so easily.
That is what this series is for.
Here is what is coming:
Post 2 — “A Council Member Invited Him In. Then the City Tried to Take His Property for Half What It’s Worth.” The fire station conditions. The political maneuvering. The council member’s words on the public record. And what it all means for this city.
Post 3 — “The City Says Your Property Is Only Worth What You Paid For It. They’re Wrong.” The valuation fight at the heart of this case — and what it means for every property owner in a neighborhood like yours.
Post 4 — “Cleveland Is About to Spend Millions in Court Over a Fire Station It Can’t Build Until 2029.” The money. The timeline. And the question nobody at City Hall is answering out loud.
Post 5 — “Cleveland Needs a Fire Station. But Not Like This.” What fair actually looks like. And what this community should demand if this taking moves forward.
Follow this series. Share it with every property owner you know in this city. Share it with every person who has ever invested in Cleveland or is thinking about it. Because the game is still being played — it just looks different now.
I’m Kenn Dowell. Cleveland born. Glenville raised. And never afraid to say what needs to be said.
I’ll see you in Post 2.
This is a five-part civic intelligence series produced by Strategic Moves Media Network.
Thats a difficult situation. Can he take the million as a downpayment on a lease and charge rent as much as a gas station earns? Otherwise, it's pretty clear that it's time to elect ppl with stamina to withstand the status quo of how dem8c4s5 govt works around here. If they’re jealous of your profitable situation, they take your investment. Read the story of King Ahab and the vineyard he wanted from Naboth. Find out what happened to King Ahab. Protect private property. Skin is only skin deep. Dont let it matter. Only godliness can shake selfish govt motivation. Don't vote for humanists. It is true though, property is only worth what someone will pay. The govt just forced the value of the property to drop. Of course a democr councilman, rep, or senator could buy it low priced and sell it to the democr govt at full price. It's what they do, over and over, all over. Get elected for Guaranteed deals.