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As the negotiations between Jersey City and developer Steve Hyman over a potential purchase of the 6th Street Embankment continue to plod along, the city is exploring taking the land via eminent domain.

In a letter sent to Hyman’s attorney last week, a real estate appraiser from Livingston-based Value Research Group says his firm has been retained by Jersey City to appraise the Embankment properties to estimate the “just compensation” due to Hyman in connection with a potential condemnation and acquisition by eminent domain.

The firm will inspect the Embankment sites on Wednesday, June 2.

The pending appraisal was confirmed by Jersey City’s top attorney, Bill Matsikoudis, but he declined any further comment on the record, citing the ongoing negotiations over the purchase of the land.

Hyman says he’s confident he’ll prevail if the city tries to take the land via eminent domain, in part because he believes the city can’t show it negotiated with him in good faith and in part because he thinks the city won’t be able to condemn what they’ve been claiming in court is a rail line.

The future of the Embankment has been in limbo since Hyman’s wife, Victoria, purchased the site from Conrail in 2005. Hyman has proposed a number of different development plans for the sites, but his attempts to build have been stymied by the city and the Embankment Preservation Coalition, who together hope to preserve most of the land for a park while potentially building a light rail extension as well.

The city has been arguing in court that Conrail’s initial sale to Hyman should be overturned, since the rail company didn’t properly abandon the sites as specified in federal law. The city filed a lawsuit four years ago arguing that Conrail should have offered the land to the city before selling it to any developer. In a 2007 decision, the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) agreed. But that decision was overturned last year by a federal appeals court, which ruled that the STB didn’t have jurisdiction to hear the case. That ruling has been appealed by Jersey City, and a decision is pending.

But as the case continues to eat up precious time and resources, several City Council members have been pushing for an end to the litigation. That, in part, led the city to enter into mediation with Hyman late last year.

The city and Hyman came close to reaching an agreement earlier this year, but the settlement never materialized and both sides continue to negotiate while fighting their various legal battles in federal and local courts.

For his part, Hyman says he’s growing tired of the litigation process and just wants to either sell or use the properties he’s owned for a half-decade.

“I either want the money from the city, or I want the land,” he says.