Property Row Over Flight 93 Memorial Site

(AP)  A man who owns property at the site where Flight 93 crashed has demanded millions for his portion of land where a memorial is planned, and has installed a donation box to help pay for security.

The actions by Mike Svonavec have angered victims' families, who believe he is overcharging and disagree with the need for a donation box.

"That land has been paid for with 40 lives ... the donation box is an insult to that cost," said Patrick White, vice president for Families of Flight 93.

Svonavec wants $10 million for his 273-acre property in Somerset County, far more than the per-acre amount paid for nearby land, White said Tuesday. He said Svonavec told him about his asking price last July, and that he has rejected three offers from the group — the latest for more than $500,000.

"I think Svonavec believes his land, because it has the blood of my cousin and 39 other people, it's worth more," he said.

Svonavec said he wants fair market value for the parcel and he would accept no money for the exact site where 40 passengers and crew members died when the hijacked United Airlines flight crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. He declined to comment on the $10 million figure.

The donation box, installed near a temporary memorial on the land, would help cover security costs. Security has been handled by a firm at a cost of about $10,000 per month since federal funding ran out in February. The site has also incurred other costs, he said.

"I just can't afford it," Svonavec said. "I need some help."

Memorial planners have purchased 60 of the 1,300 acres needed for a permanent memorial and national park. Svonavec owns the second-largest parcel of land in the area after PBS Coals Inc., which owns 864 acres.

White said he is negotiating with PBS Coals, and the remaining parcels are in various stages of being acquired.

Svonavec said he is working with advisers, including Randall Bell, a California-based real estate appraiser who specializes in properties where disasters have occurred. Svonavec said he is waiting for a completed appraisal.

He said he had asked to deal exclusively with the National Park Service, which also is working on the memorial, rather than the group. He said he rejected an earlier Park Service offer because "it just wasn't acceptable."

The Park Service is preparing another appraisal. Joanne Hanley, the Park Service superintendent of the site, declined to comment.

Flight 93 was en route from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco when it was hijacked and crashed in a field near Shanksville as passengers rushed the cockpit, according to the 9/11 Commission.

The $58 million memorial was established by an act of Congress in 2002. Construction tentatively has been scheduled to start in late 2008 or early 2009, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony has been planned for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks.

[down-ndirty]

"While I think the folks on Flight 93 showed great personal bravery, calling them 'heroes' is inflation." Posted by perm3800 at 08:55 AM : Jun 07, 2007
________________

Really? In your mind what would qualify as a heroic act?

Giving your life to possibly save hundreds or thousands of lives doesn't qualify?

Giving your life to save a national treasure like the White House doesn't qualify?

Granted, probably not all of the passengers participated willingly. And they were doomed anyway. But those few who forced that plane down in the field instead of letting it fly on to an unknown target were clearly heros.

Could you do what they did? Or would you just sit there and hope to live the little extra time you might have left.

As for the memorial? Forget it. Too expensive; and after a few years, who will remember or care?

Let the towns/cities the passengers lived in erect a small memorial for them.

[perm3800]

While I think the folks on Flight 93 showed great personal bravery, calling them 'heroes' is inflation. Antonio is incorrect in stating that the passengers were only trying to save their own lives: there is ample evidence that they caused their own deaths in an effort to prevent their flight from being used as a weapon of mass destruction by the nut jobs trying to earn their horis. They were as much soldiers in this 'war on terror' as are any troops in theatre in the Middle East. Moreso, perhaps, than those in the specious Iraq theater and akin those in the more directly attributable Afghan theater. Do not rob the Flight 93 passengers of their due. It was not simply self-preservation.

That said, as to Mr. Patrick's claim that Mr. Svonavec is asking $58M for his land, perhaps the inflated price is an effort by Mr. Svonavec to halt Mr. Patrick's runaway train. Sixty acres is big enough. This isn't Gettysburg, folks.

If Mr. Svonavec has to pay for the security at the site, he has a right to recoup the costs. He should be recouping them from Mr. Patrick and company. If there is a nonprofit for Flight 93, as Mr. Patrick's title implies, the cost for security belongs there.

[randalds]

I can see it now, The Flight 93 Holiday Inn. Ask us about our special "Let's Roll" honeymoon suite, complete with a hot tub, free champagne and a balcony view of the actual crash site where everyone died. And don't forget to try the "Crash Landing Bar and Grill" next door, with their famous flaming jet fuel chili. Three day weekend family tickets to the Flight 93 Theme Park available for $350 at the front desk, includes hot dogs and VIP access to all of the rides.

[Syndicate]

Sounds like a good use of eminent domain. Since he is trying to profit from this, this is probably the only case were I would like to see the landowner get screwed.

[mennowoman]

Why do they need over a thousand acres to put up a memorial? Why don't they work with the 60 acres they already have and the ten acres Svonavecis willing to donate?

I mean, a thousand acres? That's bigger than most small cities!

Maybe they could develop a memorial that doesn't include a Taco Bell and a shopping center, and that would be more meaningful and more respectful of the dead.

[usaisok]

This is just insane. Take care of the living!

[auntdb]

What is all the debate the man owns the property and can charge what he wants for it. What is the purpose of this memorial anyway other than to turn a profit for someone. This money would be better spent on the health issues of those people who went to ground zero to help save lives and who are currently suffering and not being given proper treatment because they can not afford it. Why not age these heros the health care they need. What good will a memorial do, rather than something simple sounds like it will be closer to a theme park. Wake up and help those who are here and tried to help others.

[dylanxxv]

The guy should be able to charge whatever he wants for HIS land...

[bareemperor]

Should the Bu$h NeoCon administration foot the bill for covering up their involvement in the 9/11 conspiracy?
I believe they should. They shot Flight 93 down (or whatever that aircraft was) and engineered the demolition of three buildings in New York City for a shot at the world's oil reserves...
Mission Accomplished.

(Look into the facts for yourself, do not just believe what you are told.)

[randalds]

"That land has been paid for with 40 lives ... the donation box is an insult to that cost," said Patrick White, vice president for Families of Flight 93."

The very idea that there even IS a "vice president for Families of Flight 93" is obscene! Though not nearly as sickening as the idea of 1300 acres for a memorial! At this point I really don't care what they build there as I'm going to boycott it anyway! A pox on all of their houses!