Villages of Woodland Springs Homeowners Association

Industrial park planned: borders I-35W btwn Golden Triangle Blvd

Jun 25, 2006

Trust to draft plan for acreage
By SANDRA BAKER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

STAR-TELEGRAM
MAP: Industrial park planned FORT WORTH -- The state's School Land Board on Tuesday agreed to enter into a contract with Ridge Property Trust to put together a business plan for the development of about 300 acres of industrial land along Interstate 35W in the Alliance Corridor in far north Fort Worth.

The land borders I-35W between Golden Triangle Boulevard and Keller Hicks Road.

The Texas General Land Office bought the property in August from Synergy Properties. The company was developing the land as a light industrial park.

The Land Office buys and sells land as investments for the Permanent School Fund, an account that gives money to the state's school districts. It is a relatively new role for the agency. In 2001, the Texas Legislature gave the office permission to invest oil and gas royalties in real estate. In 2004, the office earned more than $48 million from land transactions and deposited $343 million into the school fund.

Bo Tanner, deputy commissioner of asset management for the office, said his agency has been working with Ridge Property Trust for about a year. The company has six months to draft a plan.

Ridge Property Trust is a private real-estate investment trust formed between Chicago-based Ridge Investors and Prudential Real Estate Investors. The company's Web site says it specializes in developing warehouse, distribution and manufacturing facilities and has developed more than 75 million square feet of space.

It has developments in Arlington, Farmers Branch, Garland, Mission, Laredo, McAllen, Seadrift and Waco, according to the Web site.


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Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727 sabaker@star-telegram.com