Last modified: Thursday, August 21, 2008 2:53 AM EDT Land-taking possible in city BY GEORGE W. RHODES SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - The inability of two property owners and the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority to seal a deal on the sale of land and buildings at the southern tip of the 32-acre downtown revitalization area will likely result in an eminent domain taking in the next month. ARA Executive Director Michael Milanoski said the ARA board will likely be asked to take the property of both owners "at the next meeting or so." About three acres is owned by Reynolds and Markman, an industrial supply company that operates from the site. Another acre is the former site of Johnson Fabrication and is owned by Orville Richardson. The property is off Olive Street near the railroad tracks. The companies and the ARA have been negotiating on and off for more than two years, but have not been able to agree on a price. That will force the ARA to take the property by eminent domain and pay what real estate appraisers have determined is fair market value. Price also is dictated by regulations of the Federal Transit Administration, which is funding many of the downtown improvements that include a new MBTA parking garage, a GATRA bus station, new roads, condominiums and retail space, officials said. About $10 million has been committed to the project by the federal and state governments to date. The sides have been at loggerheads since early last year, with Reynolds and Markman officials saying the company can't relocate and thrive on the money offered by the ARA. The owner of the Johnson property had intended to develop a self-storage facility on the site, and claims the dispute has cost him time and money. In March of last year, city councilors said they would vote for the Urban Renewal Plan that governs the multi-phase, multi-year and multi-million dollar downtown project only if a settlement with the two companies was deemed by them to be fair. The urban renewal plan was approved last year. Meanwhile, another company, Mantrose-Haeuser, has offered to donate a small piece of its property that's needed for the project. Milanoski said the ARA will save about $100,000 because of the donation.