Developer doesn’t want to sell tract sought by Highland Park ISD

“Highland Park ISD may have to go to court to get the land it wants to buy near the administration building and high school.

A representative for the property owner says the school district already made an offer for a vacant property on West Lovers Lane and he turned it down. He said the district offered less money than the developer paid for it in June.

“I was pretty offended,” said Timm Baumann, manager of Lovers Lane Developers LLC and partner of Savannah Developers. “I just said, ‘I’m not interested.’”

Baumann said the developer plans to build and sell 15 townhouses on the property in the 4100 block of West Lovers Lane. The school district wants to initially use the 0.62-acre lot for parking.

“If they decide to invoke eminent domain, we already have our legal strategy in place,” Baumann said. “We will do whatever we need to do.”

On Monday, Highland Park ISD trustees approved negotiating with the property owner and using eminent domain, if necessary. District officials said they had not yet contacted the property owner.”

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Repko, Melissa. Dallas News 19 November 2014.