Michael Karlis
The filing comes after the Current reported that paper work suggests that the Alamo Trust misled bar owner Vince Cantu during negotiations.
The move follows weeks of back-and-forth between the Alamo Trust and Moses Rose's owner Vince Cantu on a possible buyout for the property at 516 E. Houston St. However, neither side could agree to a price.
“After numerous attempts by the Alamo Trust, Inc., the Texas General Land Office, and the City of San Antonio to negotiate a sales price for the property with Mr. Vincent Cantu, the City has taken action to move forward with the eminent domain process,” said a statement from city officials.
San Antonio City Council voted to approve eminent domain proceedings against Moses Rose's in January after it appeared that the Alamo Trust had hit a brick wall in its attempts to buy Cantu's property.
In the months since, the Alamo Trust upped its offer from $4 million to $5.26 million to acquire the property. Even so, Cantu said that he wouldn’t accept anything less than $9 million.
On Tuesday, the Current on questions raised by correspondence between the Alamo Trust and Cantu during the negotiation process.
Cantu alleges the Alamo Trust and the city promised to pay him for his projected lost revenue in its final offer. However, that figure does not appear to be included in the final offer made for the property.
“I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with the Alamo Trust for not only not honoring our agreement to value my company using the metric we all agreed on and is printed in their initial offer, but to then further personally insult me in the press,” Cantu said in a statement sent to media outlets on Tuesday.
The Alamo Trust said in the statement that despite the condemnation filing, it will try to reach an agreement with Cantu in out-of-court negotiations.
However, if those talks fail, Cantu is only likely to receive $2.1 million — or fair market value — for his property in proceedings led by three court-appointed special commissioners, according to Alamo Trust officials.
In an emailed statement, Cantu attorney Dan Eldredge said he plans to fight the city's proposed takeover "every step of the way."
"We have reviewed the document filed with the court and have read nothing that persuades us to think the City has the legal authority to take the Cantu’s property," he said. "After the recent surfacing of clear evidence of bad faith in their negotiations, the City of San Antonio’s willingness to double-down today in their unlawful attempt to use take the Cantu’s property for the GLO and Alamo Trust is both telling and disturbing."
Subscribe to SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
