Dallas is seeking to use eminent domain to acquire property near the old Dallas Morning News campus for its new convention center, court records show.
City attorneys filed a lawsuit this week against Charter DMN Holdings, a company owned by developer Ray Washburne, that says two offers to buy more than 36,000 square feet of land downtown near Young and Houston streets were rejected.
“Further attempts to negotiate would be futile and to no avail,” the lawsuit said.
Washburne told The News via text Friday he is willing to sell the parcel to the city, but a ground lease with WFAA remains in effect. Representatives from WFAA and its parent company, Tegna, didn’t immediately respond to an email for comment Friday.
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Dallas’ city attorney’s office declined comment Friday.
In April, the Dallas City Council approved two resolutions authorizing the city to spend up to $51.7 million to acquire the old Dallas Morning News campus from Washburne. Dallas Central Appraisal District records show the city took ownership of the larger parcel, which includes part of the former newspaper headquarters and its parking garage, in June after the council approved spending up to $45.1 million for its purchase.
Earlier this year, Washburne threatened to sell the downtown site to an unnamed data firm, citing delays in the city’s design plans for the new convention center.
The condemnation lawsuit targets a smaller, adjacent parcel — a parking lot between the parking garage and WFAA’s television studio — for which the City Council approved spending up to $6.5 million. The lawsuit lists Charter DMN Holdings, WFAA-TV and The News’ parent company, DallasNews Corp., among several groups that city attorneys describe as owning or having a claim to the property.
City and project officials announced last year the effort to revamp the downtown convention center would need to extend onto the former Dallas Morning News property in order to accommodate the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans to widen Interstate 30, updates to nearby Union Pacific Railroad tracks and to avoid building over the railway lines. The new convention center is planned to open in 2029 and is anticipated to cost more than $3 billion.
The April resolution for the smaller parcel explicitly authorized the use of eminent domain if negotiations failed, which is why the city is now pursuing legal action.
Washburne bought the old Dallas Morning News campus for $28 million in 2019. Under the city’s deal, he retains ownership of the front portion of the campus.