General Land Office near sale of tract on Blanco River
Land is warbler habitat; some is in aquifer recharge zone
Monday, February 5, 2008
By Asher Price
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
A state agency is on the verge of selling a 2,166-acre tract that fronts the Blanco River near Kyle to an Austin developer.
The land, a former ranch owned by Texas' General Land Office, is under contract to Austin-based Masonwood Properties.
Some environmentalists say the land is in a potentially sensitive area and are criticizing the state for making the deal.
The Austin Business Journal reported Monday that the land was under contract. The General Land Office said it would not reveal details of the sale because the deal is pending. Masonwood CEO Jim Meredith did not return calls Monday. Hays County Commissioner Jeff Barton, whose district includes the tract, said Masonwood had described its Blanco River project as featuring high-end homes.
The land office has stepped up its real estate activities since 2005, when the Legislature gave the office greater authority in acquiring land for investment and taking a stronger role in developing it. The land office, under scrutiny for its attempts to sell about 9,200 acres adjacent to Big Bend National Park, says money from the sale will go to the $24.5 billion Permanent School Fund, which is for the state's public schools.
The General Land Office bought the 2,166-acre property in two purchases, in 2005 and 2006, for at least $20 million. Most of the land was acquired from A.W. Gregg and his family, which had operated it as a ranch since the late 1940s.
Gregg said he sold the land directly to the land office, instead of to developers, because the agency could pay cash.
The land was initially put up for auction in July. But three initial bids were deemed unacceptable by the land office because they failed to meet the state's minimum mark.
Last year, the General Land Office signed an agreement with Hays County to convey a conservation easement on about 50 acres of the tract to the county at the closing of the land deal.
"Weappreciate the willingness of the land office to respect the concerns of local government and help protect sensitive land," Barton said. "It guarantees a minimum of protection, andleaves open the door for creative partnering" with the developer.
He said the county did not negotiate the offer: "We didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth too much," he said.
A conservation ordinance adopted in Dripping Springs several years ago holds that developers must set aside at least 40 percent of their land for open space. One development near the Hays County town proposes to spare 70 percent of the land; another has a park three times the size of Zilker, which has 351 acres.
Some environmentalists say the land office is using its advantages — such as its ability to pay cash — to snatch up important land and sell it for investments.
"They're abusing that power to buy sensitive land to sell off to developers," said Luke Metzger, director of the nonprofit Environment Texas. "We think that's very inappropriate for the state to encourage sprawl."
Portions of the land are in the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. The aquifer provides drinking water for more than a million Texans, and historically environmentalists have battled against development over it for fear that runoff from developments would lead to pollution of the aquifer.
Gary Amaon, a former Central Texas manager for the Nature Conservancy, said that area of Hays County is habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.
"I have no problem with (the land office) investing in land for the Permanent School Fund." Amaon said. "But if the land's significant environmentally, they need to do it sensitively,and not just go to higher bidder."
The General Land Office has conducted environmental and archaeological studies on the property, said Jim Suydam, a spokesman for the office. The office will not release the studies or the sale price because the deal is pending, Suydam said.
Meredith made his first splash in Austin real estate as a 36-year-old in 1995, when he completed a $5 million deal involving the Ranch at Cypress Creek. He also developed the Behrens Ranch subdivision, designed for at least 800 homes on 580 acres in Round Rock, with a golf course and hike-and-bike trails.
asherprice@statesman.com
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