Hunt Communities Backs Out Of Northeast Master Plan Land Deal
By Darren Hunt
EL PASO — Hunt Communities has pulled out of what is believed to be the largest land deal in the history of El Paso.
District 7 City Councilman Steve Ortega confirmed this morning that Hunt Communities, a local company, has decided to rescind its $131 million dollar winning bid for the Northeast Master Plan. The plan called for the development of more than 4,800 acres in Northeast El Paso using what are called ‘smart growth principles.’
“From my perspective the deal fell through because Hunt put in a very generous bid ($27,132 per acre) at a time when the market was good,” Ortega said. “Now, with the housing market tanking, the value of the asset that they had bid on depreciated. So I think they were looking for a way out of the deal.”
The first sign that the deal was in jeopardy came during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Justin Chapman, a representative from Hunt Communities, told council that the company would not finalize the deal until the City defined what smart growth principles would have to be applied in the development.
The City is in the middle of a rewrite of its subdivision code that is not expected to be completed before July. City representative Susie Byrd asked Hunt Communities to move forward with the agreement that the code would eventually be completed, but the company refused.
Mayor John Cook, who has been working on the Northeast Master Plan since 1999, could not be reached for comment this morning. But he said Tuesday he feared if the deal with Hunt fell through, the plan would die because there may not be any alternate bidders due to the change in El Paso’s housing market.
“Hunt Communities notified the PSB and the City (see attached letter) that it is impossible to perform the obligations required under the Agreement (and the Bid Documents). TheAgreement (and the Bid Documents) requires the successful bidder to design, develop and construct the Community using Smart Growth Principles and in accordance with the City’s master plan vision for the property. Without clearly defined subdivision regulations that support the City’s development outcome, there is no legal way to successfully implement the City’s vision for the Community.As one of El Paso’s most active community developers, Hunt Communities remains committed to the future of the City and the region. Hunt Communities continues to support attempts to integrate Smart Growth into land development planning, the development of Parcel MPC in accordance with such Principles, and improving the quality of development in the City. Hunt Communities thanks the PSB, its management, and its board for striving for quality development in the City and hopes that the PSB and the City will work together to correct the deficiencies and bring the property back to the market.”
