HOUSTON – Deal Sikes & Associates, an eminent domain consulting firm, reported that 600 parcels of private property will be acquired by governmental entities in the $1 billion Grand Parkway expansion project which has just begun in the northern suburbs of Houston. The new road will enhance development opportunities north of Houston.
The acquisition of the property for the 37-mile expansion of the Grand Parkway represents one of the largest governmental right-of-way land purchase programs currently underway in the nation.
“Our firm is working with a number of land owners on the Grand Parkway route. In many instances, there can be a significant disparity between market value and what the government initially offers to pay for the property,” said Mark Sikes, co-founder of Deal Sikes & Associates. “We highly recommend that property owners retain professional counsel and a comprehensive valuation before accepting a purchase offer.”
With construction starting in 2013, the new roadway will open up vast sections of north Harris County and southern Montgomery County to real estate development and long-term growth, said Matthew Deal, co-founder of Deal Sikes & Associates.
The new section of the Grand Parkway, known as State Highway 99, will provide easier access to ExxonMobil Corp.’s new 400-acre campus where the energy company will employ approximately 10,000 employees, with occupancy expected to begin in 2014.
The expansion of the Grand Parkway, known as Segments F-1, F-2 and G, will open in 2015, connecting US Highway 290 to Interstate 45 North to US Highway 59 North. The Texas Department of Transportation recently awarded a $1.04 billion contract to Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders to build the roadway expansion.
Deal Sikes & Associates has been involved in hundreds of eminent domain cases and land takings by governmental agencies for public project expansions, including the expansions of the Katy Freeway, Highway 290 and the Grand Parkway.
