Kennedale council approves EDC purchase of 18-acre Oakcrest site despite calls for environmental testing

Kennedale’s City Council voted 3–1 on April 2 to approve a potential Economic Development Corporation purchase of three parcels in the Oakcrest Addition — a combined roughly 18 acres where salvage operations have long operated — for a proposed price of $1,500,000.

The measure, presented by city staff, would have the EDC take ownership of the lots, which staff said contain about 10 acres of buildable land outside the floodplain and about 7–8 acres within the floodway. The parcels currently are associated with Red’s Auto Salvage and have been used as salvage yards for decades.

City staff said the purchase is intended to give the EDC control of the land so the city can clean up salvage operations and guide redevelopment. “This gives us an opportunity to set the city up for future development and success,” said the city manager in presentation remarks supporting the acquisition. Staff told council the EDC would be responsible for maintenance and that mowing and other services would likely be contracted, rather than performed by public works.

A council member countered that the council was being asked to approve the purchase without a formal environmental study and raised concern about paying well above Tarrant Appraisal District valuations. “We could spend a few thousand dollars and get a study done and have perfect confidence that the land is clear or not clear,” the council member said, adding that an undiscovered contamination cleanup could cost “millions more.”

City staff responded that no formal private appraisal had been obtained but that several local commercial realtors had suggested market values that depend heavily on intended future use; staff said that for pure parkland the value could be closer to $1,000,000 while commercial or residential redevelopment could push valuation higher. Staff also said previous water-quality studies from TCEQ and FEMA had not identified automotive contaminants at levels that would require large-scale remediation, and estimated a thorough environmental process (Phase 1 with, if needed, Phase 2 sampling) could be on the order of tens of thousands of dollars, with $50,000 cited as a rough figure.

Council also discussed financing. Staff said the EDC planned to make a $500,000 down payment and would carry a $1,000,000 private loan from the landowner representative (referred to in the record as Mr. Sturgeon) with a three-year payoff arrangement.

After debate, a councilman moved to approve the potential EDC purchase of Lots 1, 2 and 3, Block 10 of the Oakcrest Addition; another council member seconded. The motion passed 3–1.

The council’s approval authorizes the EDC to proceed toward purchase under the terms discussed; staff and the EDC will determine next steps for title work, any environmental testing before resale or redevelopment, and the timing of site cleanup and future land-use planning.