Group Buys 220 Acres From Hunt

RICHARDSON, TX-Interests of the late Hassie Hunt sold a 220-acre tract to a group led by Dallas-based Parliament Group Inc. in an all-cash transaction. The new owners are taking their time in determining the future of this land, which is bordered by two major highways and the Dallas Area Rapid Transit light rail.

“This land has been developed around, but not on, as of now,” comments Joseph M. Altemore III, a partner in the Parliament Group. He tells GlobeSt.com that the reason for this was because the land was part of a trust set up for a Hunt sibling that had passed away a few years ago. “The charge of the trust was to start dissolving assets,” Altemore explains, meaning the land located at U.S. 75 (Central Expressway) and State Highway 190 (George Bush Turnpike) came to the market.

Altemore tells GlobeSt.com the next step is to determine the best use for the land. To that end, the new owners are working on a six-month to one-year study to examine some possibilities, including a transit-oriented development on the western 57 acres which adjoin the light rail station. The remaining acreage could be dedicated to a mixed-use development.

“It’s trying to get a crystal ball out today and fast-forward five years to figure out what the demand will be then,” Altemore says. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out for the next 12 months.”

He adds that Hunt family was an excellent steward of the land, maintaining it well and setting it up for potential development. During its ownership, the family and its property management group, Galatyn Park Corp., worked with the Cities of Richardson and Plano, Collin County, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Turnpike Authority to orchestrate development of the President George Bush Turnpike through the northern edge of the land. Galatyn Park Corp. also worked with the Hunt family, DART and the city of Richardson to secure the Bush Turnpike station. Furthermore, the area is the second-largest employment center in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, after the Dallas CBD.

And now the land is in the hands of Parliament Group and its partners. “We’ll take our time on this one and figure it out,” Altemore comments. “Right now we have a blank canvas out there, and the worst thing we could do is pull the trigger on something that doesn’t belong there.”