Texas cedes Fairfield Lake State Park to developers for luxury neighborhood

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is giving up efforts to seize the land through eminent domain.

Fairfield Lake State Park Texas
David Radzieta/Getty Images

CHRON.
By Renee Yan
December 9, 2023

A months-long struggle over an important plot of Texas land has ended. State officials announced this week that they are dropping their eminent domain campaign to seize 5,000 acres in Freestone County for Fairfield Lake State Park, which was shut down this year after a Dallas-based developer bought the property in February. 

Per a press release, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is conceding land rights to Todd Interests, which can now move forward with building its exclusive community of multimillion-dollar homes as planned. Todd Interests acquired the property from Vistra Corp., which had allowed the state to operate the park for the past five decades. The transaction triggered a fight with TPWD officials, who said they were left out of the deal.

Now, after nearly a year of failed negotiations and legal clashes, that battle has concluded.

"TPWD recognizes the importance of conserving our state's natural resources and providing recreational opportunities for Texans," said its Executive Director David Yoskowitz in a statement. "However, TPWD must also responsibly manage the state's fiscal resources in order to maximize the benefit of our parks for all Texans. The citizens of Texas have always shown strong support for expanded access to state parks, and I believe there is a promising future for outdoor recreation in our great state."

Per the Houston Chronicle's Octavia Johnson, the decision was reached after a three-person Freestone County special commission assessed the property's fair market value to be more than $418 million—roughly four times the $100-plus million that Todd Interests reportedly paid. 

Before the commission's determination, TPWD tried to argue that the land was worth $85 million, at most, based on an appraisal from earlier this year, according to Lana Ferguson with The Dallas Morning News. But Todd Interests representatives said that the value shot up after they presented their development plans and brought investors into the project.

For almost a year, the land dispute has been a source of tension among county officials and local organizations, who are divided over private property rights and conservation efforts. The Save Fairfield Lake State Park Facebook group—which now boasts about 3,000 members—was created in February to "firmly support all means to acquire the park for public use, including the use of eminent domain."

Meanwhile, Freestone County Precinct 3 Commissioner Lloyd Lane penned a November op-ed in The Dallas Morning News, railing against the state for government overreach. "The state has shown zero concern for Freestone County, and zero concern for the private property rights of Texans," Lane said in his column, which was co-signed by his fellow county court commissioners. Amid the debacle, Arch "Beaver" Aplin III left his post as chair of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission—although the reasoning for his leaving was unclear.

In the end, the state agreed it will not attempt to use its eminent domain powers on any part of the land in the future, per Ferguson. "We want to thank the staff and visitors who made Fairfield Lake State Park such a special place for the past half century, as well as those who have supported the effort to save the park," Texas State Parks Director Rodney Franklin added in the press release.

Todd Interests founder and CEO Shawn Todd called Tuesday's announcement a "monumental and historic victory" in a written statement. "It is a tribute to the undaunting courage of the elected Freestone County officials, who stood with unwavering resolve against former appointed TPWD leadership that enacted policy that was against not only the state legislature, but the inherent rights of all Texas property owners. The Todd Interests team could not have stayed in this fight without the firm commitment from our financial partners to fight this unprecedented action," he said.

This clears the way for Todd Interests to continue construction on the Freestone Club, the high-end residential community that will feature a golf course, restaurants and shops, and access to a private airstrip, per Ferguson.