Bar owner Vince Cantu turned down $4 million from the Alamo Trust for his property last week, the nonprofit’s highest offer to date, according to the Express-News.. Credit: Michael Karlis

Bar owner Vince Cantu, who recently refused a $4 million buyout from the state as part of the expansion of the Alamo Visitor Center, last year valued his property at around $500,000 in a Bexar County tax document, the Express-News reports.

Controversy has swirled around Cantu and his bar Moses Rose’s Hideout, which local officials want to raze to make way for the $150 million visitor center and museum. In January, city council voted to approve eminent domain proceedings in hope of hastening a sale.

The Alamo Trust, the nonprofit charged with acquiring Cantu’s property, has offered $4 million — an offer that Cantu called far too low. However, recent property tax protest filings obtained by the Express-News reportedly show that Cantu estimated that it was worth far less.

The Bexar County Appraisal District valued Cantu’s bar at $908,990 last year, according to online property records. However, Cantu protested the estimate, arguing that his property was worth no more than $527,107, according to the daily.

By June of last year, Cantu and Bexar County agreed that the property at 516 E. Houston St. had a taxable valuation of $888,000, the Express-News reports.

Despite Cantu agreeing with the county that his property was worth under $1 million last summer, the bar owner has refused multiple offers from the Alamo Trust.

Most recently, he rejected a $4 million offer that included relocation assistance and — contingent on him providing documentation — operating loss reimbursement caused by relocation, Alamo Trust Director of Communications Jonathan Huhn told the Current.

Instead, Cantu has demanded $17 million, telling the media that he might settle for $8 million.

News of the apparently conflicting valuations comes days after Cantu, along with the Libertarian Party of Bexar County and This Is Texas Freedom Force, held a downtown rally to protest against the pending eminent domain takeover.

Cantu was unavailable for comment on this story.

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This article appears in Mar 8-21, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...