An eminent domain seizure of a San Antonio bar owner’s land is imminent after he turned down several offers to buy the property so that a $150 million Alamo museum could be built there.
“The current status of my situation with the state of Texas and the city of San Antonio is we’ve entered into a eminent domain phase,” Moses Rose’s Hideout owner Vince Cantu told Fox News. “We’re in between the initial offer and the final offer.”
Bar Owner Fights San Antonio Over Alamo Renovation
The Alamo will undergo a nearly $300 million renovation by the city of San Antonio, including a new museum and visitor’s center. But, Cantu, whose bar is situated on a substantial plot, claims that the city hasn’t provided him with fair compensation and has repeatedly rejected its bids, most recently a $4 million offer.
“I’ve been negotiating a price with the state to see what would be fair to my family and me,” Cantu continued, “The value of my property is likely to soar. “If I’m going to walk away from it, I want the future value in addition to the current worth.”
In order to oversee the renovation project, the non-profit Alamo Trust teamed up with the city of San Antonio and the Texas General Land Office. The Alamo Trust has also led negotiations with Cantu. Cantu’s property was appraised at $2.1 million by an impartial appraiser the charity hired, Alamo Trust Executive Director Kate Rogers said to the San Antonio Express-News on February 24.
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“The Texas General Land Office has made every effort to negotiate in good faith with Mr. Cantu to ensure he is fairly rewarded while also protecting the Shrine of Texas Liberty for future generations,” said Texas General Land Office Commissioner Dawn Buckingham.
“Last year, Mr. Cantu challenged his property’s tax value, claiming it was worth $500,000. He now wants over 30 times that matter for Texas’ tax dollars, “he said. We offered to build and transfer him to a property across the street, but he declined. Cantu has said that he would lower his initial $17 million demand.
“I would definitely say that the business is going to be worth around $4 million and the property is gonna be worth over $5 million, if you look out five and 10 years from now,” he said.
According to the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board, Cantu’s bar is “the last holdout” keeping the Alamo Trust from starting work on the Alamo museum. On January 26, the San Antonio City Council unprecedentedly voted 9-2 to seize Cantu’s property. Cantu later told the San Antonio Express-News that he believes his building “will be bulldozed by April.”
Greg Abbott tweeted that the heroes of the Alamo fought to the last man to defend Texas. You can take a look below:
On this day in 1836, the Alamo fell to the Mexican Army.
The heroes of the Alamo fought to the last man to defend Texas.
Their grit lives on in the millions of Texans today who have made our state the greatest in the nation.
#RememberTheAlamo pic.twitter.com/Y4WMLo2NRP— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) March 6, 2023
The Alamo Trust and San Antonio City Attorney’s Office expect construction of the new Alamo museum and visitor’s center to begin in June 2023 and finish in March 2026.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Cantu claimed that the offers he has gotten are incredibly unjust because his neighbor received $9.5 million to end their lease early and $500,000 in free rent. Cantu said his neighbor “didn’t even own property,” and the state “granted him $10 million” since he had five years left on his lease.
