HOUSTON – Deal Sikes & Associates has represented the majority of property owners in eminent domain cases involved in the recent widening of the heavily congested Interstate 45 South, also known as the Gulf Freeway. State officials have designated the Gulf Freeway as the third-most congested stretch of freeway in Texas.
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) exercised its power of eminent domain to obtain land for expansion of the Gulf Freeway, which is being widened from Beltway 8 to NASA Road 1.
As privately owned property was taken through eminent domain for the Gulf Freeway expansion, in many cases there was a significant disparity between the price offered by the governmental entity and fair market value, Deal Sikes reported
A number of property owners with highly valuable freeway frontage retained the services of Deal Sikes & Associates to determine the fair value of their holdings and the losses that resulted from the condemnation actions. The resolution of these cases resulted in increases in compensation for the property owners.
Deal Sikes, a valuation firm with heavy experience in eminent domain consulting, previously represented the majority of the commercial property owners impacted by the widening of the Katy Freeway, Highway 59 and Highway 290.
“Property owners must receive just compensation when governmental entities take their property through the government’s power of eminent domain,” said Matthew Deal, principal the Deal Sikes firm. “A thorough evaluation is required to ensure that just compensation is paid for the loss of their property and for damages to their remaining adjacent property.”
“The strong Houston economy and population growth has required a great deal of road expansion recently and we are anticipating more public improvement projects in the coming years,” said Mark Sikes of Houston-based Deal Sikes.