HOUSTON — Deal Sikes & Associates, a Houston real estate valuation firm, has performed extensive valuations for a massive property acquisition project that will widen Interstate 610 along a stretch of urban freeway known as the West Loop North. The Texas Department of Transportation is acquiring 73.4 acres along Houston’s West Loop near US Highway 290.
“This unprecedented expansion of the West Loop is the most significant modification to Interstate 610 in years,” said Mark Sikes, principal with Deal Sikes & Associates. “The acquisition of this much West Loop frontage is an extremely rare and noteworthy property purchase that will lead to the expansion of US Highway 290 and a noticeable change in Houston traffic patterns.”
Deal Sikes & Associates, a leader in eminent domain consulting, is providing valuation counseling for a significant number of the land owners impacted by the West Loop North widening. Some 30 parcels, located primarily on the west side of Interstate 610, between the Katy Freeway and Highway 290, are in the process of being acquired by the state.
“We consider there to be significant disparity between market value and what TxDot has offered to pay for the West Loop frontage. We are working with the private property owners, ensuring they will receive a fair price from TxDot,” said Sikes. Sikes previously served as a consultant for the majority of commercial property owners contesting compensation amounts offered by the state in the Katy Freeway widening, prior to becoming the leading Highway 290 eminent domain consultant today.
Several well-known retail locations are being obtained for the West Loop North expansion, including the Antique Center of Texas building; the former Malibu Grand Prix entertainment center; and a portion of Macy’s and Northwest Mall.
The land acquisitions are part of the planned TxDot expansion to relieve traffic congestion on Highway 290 in northwest Houston. As residential and commercial development has boomed in the northwest over the last decade, traffic issues have become acute.
