EMCID Wins $4MIL In Eminent Domain Case
A six-person jury for Montgomery County, TX County Court-At-Law # 2 awarded the East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) $4,032,142 for property taken in eminent domain proceedings by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the construction of the Grand Parkway (SH 99). The judgment was handed down May 19. EMCID lost one-third of its parking lot, a storage facility, a site on the south end of the property designated for future construction, a water well which will have to be relocated, the front driveway, signage, and trees when TxDOT condemned a portion of the District’s 12.85 acres in 2015 to use as right-of-way for the Grand Parkway at Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59.
The State originally offered the District $1.6 million for the property taken. However, EMCID President and CEO Frank McCrady says the Board felt it was important to present the case to a jury to show them how great the loss of property was to operations and future development.
“Our Board felt that we lost a great deal of functionality as a large event community center when we lost the property — specifically the parking lot — and the State’s proposed remediation parking plan was inadequate to serve our needs or that of the community,” said McCrady.
The State’s proposed plan included building a parking lot on the far north portion of EMCID’s property, which is currently designated as a future development site. It’s located adjacent to the R.B. Tullis Library and a great distance from the EMCID Complex.
The loss of the south development site negates EMCID’s plans to expand its education wing in the Complex, which currently houses Lone Star College – EMCID.
The State assessed the property value at about $2 - $2.50 per square foot, but the jury found that a value of $7 – $7.50 per square foot was a more appropriate valuation.
Moving forward, the judgment allows EMCID to properly evaluate the functionality of the existing facility for future use.
