The family said they had no knowledge of a proposal to build a road through the house. The city stated that the plan was approved nine months before they purchased it.
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee — The Mayor of Pigeon Forge issued a statement Thursday after a YouTube channel featuring an Ohio family who purchased a second house in Pigeon Forge received hundreds of thousands of views.
Mika and Doug Race purchased a 1,047-square-foot home on Ogle Drive near the Parkway in August 2022. Mika stated that the residence “fell into their lap” for a reasonable price of $306,000. She also stated that the family had spent several months refurbishing the home.
She also stated that the family had no notion the house was in the path of a new road project and that it was liable to seizure by the city.
“This was supposed to be in our family for decades,” Mika told WBIR via Zoom. “It wasn’t about money… This was about creating a legacy.”
Pigeon Forge stated city commissioners approved the Westside Connection Route nine months before the Races purchased the home.
“The city of Pigeon Forge has labored for over 30 years to provide Pigeon Forge residents with a much-needed alternate route to circumvent Parkway traffic,” City Manager Earlene Teaster said in a statement. “To address this demand, the City Commission approved the construction of the Westside Connector.”
The new route would connect Pine Mountain route and West Mill Creek Road, passing through the Race’s home on Ogle Drive. Early July saw the demolition of the house.
WBIR interviewed Knoxville lawyer John Valliant Jr., who has decades of experience in real estate law, about eminent domain and the risks property owners face when purchasing a property.
“The federal, state, county, and city governments have the authority of eminent domain,” Valliant stated. “Suppose they have a project that they want to pursue, and your property is in the region. They can take the property, but they must pay you fair market value for it.”
He stated that the government should look for ways to offer services at the lowest possible cost to taxpayers.
“It might be easier for them to take this road and run it around that way, knocking out this one house rather than a lot,” he remarked. “They’re out on their own, and it’s cheaper to take their home. “The government will consider the costs.”
The Races stated that when they discovered the house would be taken for impending domain on March 6, 2023, they immediately went to City Hall to protest. Mika has made multiple public statements in city council sessions since then, claiming a different plan for the road, which did not originally run through their home.
“We discovered that the road originally ran through the undeveloped campground, which was still undeveloped at the time,” Mika explained. “The road moved to pass through our house, therefore we wonder, ‘Why did the road move?'”
The city stated that they followed the rules and appraised the property as a commercial property at $489,665.
“When you appraise anything professionally, the quantity of the property’s value is usually more as a commercial property than it is as a residential property,” Valliant explained.
The Races stated that their documentation from the city’s valuation listed the property as R2, or residential. The family stated that they purchased a property classified C6, or business.
“To date, the Races have not produced a substitute valuation for the property. In an effort to compensate the Races, the city offered $490,000 in October 2023, to which the Races counter-offered $3 million,” Teaster stated.
Trish McGee, a public relations representative for the city of Pigeon Forge, also reacted Friday, stating that a judge signed an order to pay off the Races’ mortgage on Thursday.
“The money are not ‘in limbo,'” she explained. “The monies have been accessible to the Races since February.”
McGee called the Races’ appraisal classification “inaccurate,” claiming the property was evaluated as commercial rather than residential.
The Races are currently pursuing legal action and stated that they were unable to discuss their counteroffer of $3 million for their home. However, they believe the case was handled unfairly and that the appraisal of their home was not completed appropriately.
“That’s all we’ve ever requested, to make things right,” Mika stated. “We never ask for anything other than what our family deserves. “And everything about this smells and looks bad.”
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