Council moving ahead on land

But a Dallas investor has first right to 311-acre Voelcker property; city condemnation an option. The City Council gave staffers the go-ahead Thursday to start bargaining for the 311-acre Voelcker property in Northwest San Antonio for a new park, but purchasing the land could involve a dust-up.

A Dallas investor holds the "right of first refusal" on the land, which means he can counter an offer by the city or any other bidder, Mayor Phil Hardberger confirmed Thursday.

That means the investor would have a chance to buy the Voelcker tracts at whatever price a would-be purchaser offers.

However, the city has an ace in reserve: its power to condemn properties for projects with public benefits. In those cases, the city pays owners the fair market value, as defined by the courts.

"There is a right of first refusal, but it can be defeated by condemnation," Hardberger said. "We can get this property."

City officials estimate it could cost up to $45 million to buy the land - described by several council members as another Brackenridge Park in the making - based on recent property sales in the area.

The land is sandwiched between Northwest Military Drive and Blanco Road, in the midst of a 35-square-mile territory that has no parks - except for a small county park and playgrounds built inside gated communities.

"It is the largest unserved area in (San Antonio)," Parks Director Malcolm Matthews said.

If city officials land a deal, the property, once developed, would fall just behind the 317-acre Eisenhower Park and 344-acre Brackenridge Park, which businessman George Brackenridge donated to the city in 1899.

The property is owned by the philanthropic Voelcker Fund and went on the market in November. Banks Smith, one of the fund's four trustees, said the property must be sold at fair market value to meet its charitable obligations, with most of the funding going into medical research.

Smith said the trustees want to see the land preserved for the benefit of San Antonians. But he also noted that the land is hotly sought by developers.

"The demand for the land is phenomenal - the land is unique," Smith said. "The city is stepping in at the last possible moment."

Joe Krier of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, which backs the acquisition, said real estate experts he's heard from don't expect to ever again see such a large undeveloped tract for sale so close to the city's center.

Minnie Voelcker, a native San Antonian, and her husband, Max, operated a successful dairy fann on the land until their deaths in 1980 and 2000 respectively.

An appraisal of the property, which would be the starting point for negotiations, is due May 12.

Councilman Kevin Wolff, whose district encompasses the property, thanked the trustees for the shot at buying the land, adding: "I assure you, we will make the most of it."

The council voted 10-0 to open negotiations with the Voelcker trust.

If the city doesn't get control of the property, developers almost certainly would snap it up for housing units, which Wolff said would only exacerbate the traffic tie-ups that choke parts of his district.

"This, by not being developed, relieves me of some of that," he said.

The 311 acres are cut into two parcels by Wurzbach Parkway. Under plans outlined Thursday, the city would purchase 107 acres for an estimated $15 million within the next 90 days, using certificates of obligation already in hand. The $30 million or so for the second parcel would be included in a proposed $550 million bond package that's expected to go to voters in May 2007.

Prized Property Could be Oasis

City hopes to turn ranch into park on the heavily developed North Side

City officials want to acquire a new 311-acre park on the North Side, with the $40 million to $45 million purchase price benefiting local medical research, Mayor Phil Hardberger told the San Antonio Express News Editorial Board on Tuesday.

Called a win-win situation by city and civic officials, the deal would add badly needed parkland to the densely populated North Side off Lockhill-Selma Road while adding the Voelcker family name to the city's honor roll of charitable contributors.

Hardberger said the City Council is expected to authorize the staff on Thursday to begin negotiations with trustees of the Maxine and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund to obtain the property, which is also coveted by developers.

"It is the only property of its size in San Antonio left undeveloped that is this close to downtown," Mayor Phil Hardberger told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board on Tuesday, "We have to move, and I think we have to move quickly on it. This is the chance of a lifetime, it won't come again."

The $40 million-plus acquisition by the city would halt the complete development of the area between Lockhill-Selma and Blanco roads.

Banks Smith and three other trustees of the fund have been authorized to distribute the proceeds from the land sale to various charities, including Christus Santa Rosa Health Care and Boysville, a nonprofit organization providing residential programs to children in crisis.

Ten percent of the proceeds will go to one or both of those charities; the balance will go to charitable organizations engaged in specific areas of medical research, such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and muscular dystrophy.

"It is a historic opportunity like nothing I have seen," said Joe Krier, president and CEO of the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. "The money goes right back into the community."

Minnie Voelcker, a native San Antonian, and her husband, Max, operated a successful dairy farm on the land until their deaths in 1980 and 2000, respectively.

"The trustees have a very strong relationship with the city of San Antonio," Smith said, adding that although the fund does not stipulate which medical research organizations will benefit, it is highly likely a majority of the money would stay in San Antonio.

The estimated cost is based on the previous sale of 151 acres of land on the ranch to a residential developer. The land is bordered by Lockhill-Selma to the southwest and Blanco to the northeast. City Manager Sheryl Sculley emphasized that officials are having the land appraised, so no figure is solid.

Smith said: "Part of the uniqueness of this land is the fund didn't put a price on it. Instead, it allowed the real estate market to put a price on the land."

The city's plan is to move forward with the purchase of 107 acres bordered by Wurzbach Parkway, Blanco Road and Voelcker Lane, which could cost around $15 million, Sculley said.

The remainmg 204-acre tract would be bought with money from a proposed $550 million. Sculley said it will not require a tax rate increase. Hardberger said the 204-acre tract would be kept off the market pending voter approval of the bond package.

"A park like this will have such instant acceptability," Hardberger said.

The plan reflects city government's reawakened desire for parkland, said Henry Flores, a political scientist and dean of graduate studies at St. Mary's University.

"What we've done in the past is just have a very pro-development posture," Flores said.

The drive for development, he said, started in earnest under former Mayor Walter McAllister and later gained speed under former Mayor Henry Cisneros. Setting aside parkland was not a top priority.

Flores credits former Mayor Ed Garza, an urban planner, with starting the wheels of change.

"It was no longer development for development's sake," Flores said. "It's been more carefully planned."

About Hardberger, he noted: "This seems to fit in with how he thinks about these issues."

A successful acquisition, said Councilman Kevin Wolff, would give his district and the North East Independent School District a collective sigh of relief. More development will mean more traffic and more students for already overburdened schools, he said.

"I can't tell you what sort of things I've seen from developers that don't even own the property yet," Wolff said.

Northside Neighborhoods for Organized Development led by Ken Lawrence, president of the Hunter's Creek Neighborhood Association, is "100 percent absolutely behind this."

"We are absolutely ecstatic about it," Lawrence said, adding that neighborhood leaders have been worried about what kind of development would come once the propelty went on the market in November.

Bonnie Conner, a former councilwoman who also heads up Friends of the Parks, said the Northside Neighborhoods group, once defunct, was so concerned about what would happen to the Voelcker land that the group reformed. She said members are pleased with the proposal.

"We need a big park," she said. "What a prime opportunity."

BIGGEST PARKS
The purchase of 311 acres of Voelcker ranch would create a park among the city's 10 largest.

• Windgate Ranch 1,033

• Olmos Basin 1,010

• Rancho Diana 640

• Friedrich 636

• Iron Horse Canyon 594

• Medina River 362

• Southside Lions 347

• Brackenridge 344

• Eisenhower 317

• Panther Springs 281