Change comes at a cost.

And for store owner Nam Seo “George” Koo, whom Baltimore City wants to evict from his property and give it to the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation to develop into high-end housing and retail shops, that cost is in the millions.

“This is my anchor store and warehouse,” Koo said. “I cannot find another location like this.”

With more than $750,000 in capital improvements, Koo converted an old movie house he purchased in 1991 into 35,000 square feet of retail space and a distribution warehouse for his New York Fashions and his son Linn’s Diva stores.

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“Then the Weinberg Foundation bought the old Hutzler’s department store. Then [Weinberg] began buying up other pieces of retail and left the properties vacant and unused,” said Linn, whose father paid more than $100,000 in legal fees.

“It began looking like a ghost town,” he said. “All the foot traffic stopped. But we stayed and weathered out the storm, cutting back on staff and my father and I doing the work of 10 people in hopes of being part of whatever development was planned for the area.”

But the Baltimore Development Corp., a nonprofit contracted with Baltimore City to provide economic development services, had other plans, and it didn’t include George Koo’s moderately priced clothing store in its mock-up redevelopment rendering for the Westside.

“Through the Westside revitalization, we are creating a vibrant, mixed-use urban neighborhood, and the Lexington Square project is a keystone,” said BDC President M.J. “Jay” Brodie in a joint news release with Baltimore City in March. Brodie did not respond to Examiner calls Monday.

Linn Koo said revenues dropped 75 percent.

“It was like they were purposely trying to kill our business off, but my father kept waiting for the revitalization of the area, feeling he could recoup his losses as the area was redeveloped,” he said.

“The city says they want small businesses and that they are a vital part of its economy, but I don’t see how a small business could think they are being encouraged when they are being condemned,” said George Koo’s second lawyer, John Murphy, who took the case on a contingency basis. “Contrary to the city’s business-development model, all businesses started small.”

While the BDC makes plans for Koo’s land, he and his son are praying for intervention from the city’s eminent domain. “This is America; someone must help us,” he said.

rchappelle@baltimoreexaminer.com