Some Catholic organizations propose to build a private independent middle school in a run-down neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They asked the Redevelopment Authority of the City of
Philadelphia to acquire specific land for the project and sell it to them for a nominal price. The land included a house on North Eighth Street owned by Mary Smith, whose daughter Veronica lived there with her family. The Authority offered Smith $12,000 for the house and initiated a taking of the property.
Smith filed a suit in state court against the Authority, admitting that the house was a "substandard structure in a blighted area," but arguing that the taking was unconstitutional because its beneficiary was private. The Authority asserted that only the public purpose of the taking should be considered, not the status of the property's developer. On what basis can a government entity use the power of eminent domain to take property? What are the limits to this power? How should the court rule? Why?