Fairfield Lake State Park land won’t be sold to Texas, developer says

Despite a final push from state officials, Fairfield Lake State Park’s land won’t be sold to Texas and will be turned into a luxury neighborhood like previously planned, a developer says.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Thursday to allow the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s executive director to “take all necessary steps” to buy roughly 5,000 acres in Freestone County that includes the park, according to a TPWD statement.

While no deal has been reached as of Thursday afternoon, the commission’s action allows the director to sign an agreement at any time rather than having to bring it to a commission meeting for approval.

Texans have watched a monthslong saga unfold as failed negotiations led to Fairfield Lake closing in February and later partially reopen as a Dallas-based development firm, Todd Interests, which has had the land under contract for more than a year, released its plans to turn the property into a luxury gated community with multimillion-dollar homes and a golf course.

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Just hours after the commission’s vote, developer Shawn Todd told The Dallas Morning News that Todd Interests will move forward with its plans and close on its contract with Vistra to purchase the land.

Todd said TPWD made an offer to purchase the contract for the land from the business.

“We responded timely, almost immediately and in good faith to that offer, which was a proposal that would have been an incredible win for the state of Texas and at a significant sacrifice to our family,” Todd said. “Since we submitted that offer, the state has not responded to us. To that end, we’re moving forward with our transaction.”

Todd said it’s refreshing to hear that the state is respecting private property rights, and noted a positive impact of this interaction has been the state realizing the importance of parks and working to pass legislation to fund them.

Although the 2,400-acre park has been open to the public since 1976, Texas leased the land from privately owned Vistra Energy at no cost. The company listed the property for sale in 2021 with an asking price of $110 million, but TPWD couldn’t afford to purchase it at the time.

After the land was sold to Todd Interests, Vista was prohibited from negotiating with the state because of the terms of the developer’s contract.

The park is about a 90-mile drive south of Dallas. Its central location to Dallas, Houston and Austin makes the land highly sought after.

In an attempt to keep the land public, Texas lawmakers discussed possibly seizing it through eminent domain to block development. There were also talks of the developer possibly selling water from the land’s reservoir to North Texas cities.

During those efforts, state Rep. Trent Ashby told The News that lawmakers and state park officials were scrambling to rescue the park.

“We’re all scratching our heads how we got here,” Ashby said. “There is a bipartisan love affair to save this state park.”

The commission might meet next week to “explore additional legal options to save” the park, the department said.

Texas had leased the land for Fairfield Lake since 1971 from Vistra Energy, and the park sees an average of 80,000 visitors a year. The most popular activities at the park include horseback riding, family reunions, paddling, fishing, camping and hiking.

According to TPWD, more than 5,700 people have visited Fairfield Lake since its partial reopening in March. The department named Fairfield Lake its 2022 State Park of the Year.

Vistra Energy could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday evening.

Vistra owns the land on another state park, Lake Colorado City State Park west of Abilene, but a company spokesperson previously told The News that it is prepared to sell the land to Texas when the state is ready.

The drama around Fairfield Lake has unfolded as TPWD is celebrating 100 years of Texas state parks. Lawmakers have proposed creating a centennial trust fund that could include $1 billion investment to buy more land for parks.

Six new state parks totaling 68,000 acres are already slated to open within the next 12 to 15 years.

Staff writer Sarah Bahari contributed to this report.