Historic Ranch Receives Easement

BUDA (Landreport.com) – A rare collaboration of entities has finalized a conservation easement to preserve the historic 2,254-acre Dahlstrom Ranch outside of Buda.

Hays County, the City of Austin and the Hill Country Conservancy, with funding from the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service, purchased the easement for owner Gay Dahlstrom’s property on Onion Creek. A conservation easement limits the amount and type of development on a property, grants the right to enforce those restrictions indefinitely and allows traditional agricultural uses and limited residential use to continue on the land.

The ranch will provide public education and nature programs on a 384-acre plot. The Dalhstroms, who have owned the ranch for five generations, also have plans for the property. Livestock grazing was reduced in 2005 as a part of a long-term plan to restore the land and native wildlife. Gay Dahlstrom’s son, Jack Dahlstrom Jr., also has plans to implement ecotourism and nature and wildlife-related art exhibits on the property to further the community’s understanding of and respect for the area’s heritage and native wildlife.

Some features that make the property unique include the system of caves and sinkholes that directly feed clean water to the ranch’s aquifer.

Grant Money Will Help Build Carbon-Capture Plant

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Express-News) – Skyonic Corp. of Austin will use a $3 million federal grant to help build phase one of an industrial carbon-capture plant at the Capitol Aggregates Ltd. cement plant.

The Capitol SkyMine project, which is intended to capture 75,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the flue gas emitted by the cement plant, could generate more than 200 jobs in Texas.

Skyonic says it will work closely with Zachry Corp., the owner of Capitol Aggregates, on the simulation, design, financing and procurement for the plant. The Ford, Bacon & Davis construction engineering firm will support the effort.

Town Square Begins Retail Development

NASSAU BAY (Houston Chronicle) – Griffin Partners has broken ground on the 73,000-sf retail component of Nassau Bay Town Square.

Plans for the 31-acre development at NASA Pkwy. and Saturn Ln. include three office buildings totaling 600,000 sf, a nearly completed 313-unit apartment complex developed by Fein Interests, a 176-room Marriott Hotel, a 27,000-sf conference center and Nassau Bay City Hall.

Tunnel Project Exercises Eminent Domain

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) – City officials have approved eminent domain proceedings for Strenger Real Estate Holdings Ltd.’s paid parking lot between Fourth and Fifth Streets for the Waller Creek Tunnel Project.

The half-block lot will be used as a temporary easement for staging construction and a section will be used permanently to restore the creek and install draining infrastructure.

The tunnel project is expected to reduce the size of the 100-year floodplain of the lower Waller Creek watershed by about 28 acres and allow denser development and redevelopment in downtown Austin.

The city is currently in negotiations with Strenger, but if an agreement is not reached, eminent domain will proceed.

Project construction will move forward in early 2011 and end in 2014.

Riverwalk Hotel Sold

SAN ANTONIO (San Antonio Business Journal) – Austin-based Bunkhouse Management has purchased the historic Havana Riverwalk Inn on the Riverwalk.

The 27-room hotel opened in 1914 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bunkhouse has closed the 22,000-sf hotel for renovations and will reopen it in April under the name Hotel Havana.

Lake-Flato Architects Inc. is handling the renovation.

Prosperity Buys First Bank Branches

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Prosperity Bancshares Inc. will purchase 19 Texas branches of Louisiana-based First Bank.

The deal includes 11 branches in Houston and eight in Dallas–Fort Worth.

Houston-based Prosperity will pay a premium of 5.5 percent for about $500 million in deposits and purchase approximately $100 million in loans and other assets attributable to the branches.

The definitive agreement has been approved by both banks, and the transaction is expected to close during the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval.

ACC Purchases Land for Expansion

AUSTIN (Austin Community College) – The purchase of three downtown tracts marked for future expansion has been approved by the Austin Community College (ACC) Board of Trustees.

The land at 1209 Rio Grande St., 1215 Rio Grande St. and 605 13th St. totals about half an acre. ACC will pay $2.1 million, plus closing costs, which are available from 2009 revenue bonds.

ACC’s district-wide facilities master planning has begun and is scheduled to be completed this year. That process will include recommending specific uses for the downtown property.

Century-Old Praetorian Purchased for Remodel

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Local investor Tim Headington’s purchase of the Praetorian Building means the city’s oldest skyscraper will finally receive a makeover, a long-term goal of downtown boosters.

Headington purchased the 15-story building at 1607 Main as well as two small retail and commercial buildings adjoining it on Elm St.

Plans are being made to renovate the 1908 building, which has been mostly empty since 1983.

Samsung Ahead on Plant Renovation

AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. expects to complete the $500 million renovation of its northeast Austin chip manufacturing plant by the end of March, over one month ahead of schedule.

More than 1,000 construction workers are converting Fab 1 into an annex for the neighboring Fab 2, which is the largest chip manufacturing plant in North America.

Samsung will hire 200 workers before production begins at Fab 1 and Fab 2, which are to be renamed Copper Fab and Main Fab, respectively.

Production at the plant will begin in June on advanced NAND flash memory chips for portable media players.

One Petroleum Place Purchased

ABILENE (Interra Properties) – The 85,000-sf One Petroleum Place office building at 3444 N. First St. has been purchased off the market by a joint venture between Interra Capital and Sky Capital.

Tenants in the six-story building include Chase Bank, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Attorney General.

The property, which will undergo extensive upgrades, will be managed by Interra Management, an affiliate of Interra Capital Group. Paul Johnson and Associates of Abilene will handle marketing.

Wooded Tract Purchased

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – A Lufkin-based investor has purchased 224 wooded acres on FM 1960, between Woodland Hills Dr. and Timber Forest Dr.

Laird Real Estate Auctions, Houston, represented the seller.

Help Us Help Real Estate Newbies

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – We need your help, and so does anyone wishing to pursue a career in real estate in Texas.

Last Tuesday's RECON included a list of our most popular online publications. The top publication — “Obtaining a Texas Real Estate License” — contains a list of accredited schools offering real estate courses. Several readers have called or written to let us know about outdated information on that list.

Real Estate Center attorney Judon Fambrough says the Center does not have the manpower to check each school’s information every time we revise that publication, so he welcomes readers to e-mail him and let him know about any corrections that need to be made.

If you spot a mistake on this list, please drop Fambrough a message at jfambrough@mays.tamu.edu.