UNT takes next steps in Avenue C eminent domain cases

[Harry]

The University of North Texas has officially started the eminent domain process to acquire four properties near campus.

The move comes four months after university officials sent offer letters to buy the following: 903 Kendolph St., site of Eagle Car Wash; 902 Ave. C, home to Campus Bookstore; 906 Ave. C, home to New York Sub Hub and Naranja Cafe; and 1000 Ave. C, the site of Oriental Express.

Officials notified property owners by letter Oct. 14 that since no property owners accepted UNT’s initial offers, eminent domain is starting. UNT will be represented by Clint Harbour, an assistant attorney general who specializes in condemnation hearings when public entities take private land.

“As the university and property owners have been unable to reach agreement after four months, the court will appoint neutral parties to hold a hearing and determine fair pricing for the properties,” said Leigh Anne Gullett, a spokesperson for UNT, in an emailed statement. “As the university continues to grow and thrive in Denton, our students need more housing, classrooms and labs. Our campus borders severely restrict where we can seek additional land to build infrastructure necessary to continue delivering the quality educational experience our community deserves.”

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[UNT 90 Grad]

Football tie in?

[PlummMeanGreen]

Does Denton’s University Drive New York SubHub have the same bread & content (fixins’) quality as the one off Avenue C & Eagle Drive?

[UNTexas]

3 minutes ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

Does Denton’s University Drive New York SubHub have the same bread & content (fixins’) quality as the one off Avenue C & Eagle Drive?

Who knows but the university should build around it. That place is awesome. 

[Stix]

12 minutes ago, PlummMeanGreen said:

Does Denton’s University Drive New York SubHub have the same bread & content (fixins’) quality as the one off Avenue C & Eagle Drive?

It should.  The University Drive NY Subway is (I believe) a franchise.  The owner there (Mike) worked at the Ave. C NY Subway when he was a student.

Notice I always say NY Subway, not Sub-Hub.  They may not be able to call it that anymore, but I'm not worried about "Subway" suing me. 🙂

[PlummMeanGreen]

2 hours ago, Stix said:

It should.  The University Drive NY Subway is (I believe) a franchise.  The owner there (Mike) worked at the Ave. C NY Subway when he was a student.

Notice I always say NY Subway, not Sub-Hub.  They may not be able to call it that anymore, but I'm not worried about "Subway" suing me. 🙂

So with one left all will not be lost.

GMG!

Edited October 24, 2019 by PlummMeanGreen

[Stix]

https://www.ntdaily.com/unt-makes-1-4-million-deal-with-new-york-sub-hub/

The source for the NT Daily's story, in the DRC, seems to not require a subscription: https://dentonrc.com/news/unt-pays-million-for-new-york-sub-hub-in-eminent/article_3283b4a6-e21a-5c76-b3c4-7f30b0cdc01d.html

Confusing...  not sure how/why Ken wouldn't have let his son know the deal was in the works.  I expect we'll hear more eventually, including whether this settlement will allow them to move to another location.

[KRAM1]

12 hours ago, Stix said:

https://www.ntdaily.com/unt-makes-1-4-million-deal-with-new-york-sub-hub/

The source for the NT Daily's story, in the DRC, seems to not require a subscription: https://dentonrc.com/news/unt-pays-million-for-new-york-sub-hub-in-eminent/article_3283b4a6-e21a-5c76-b3c4-7f30b0cdc01d.html

Confusing...  not sure how/why Ken wouldn't have let his son know the deal was in the works.  I expect we'll hear more eventually, including whether this settlement will allow them to move to another location.

Easy answer...they needed adults in the room. Ken, being the adult, knew from the beginning that he would have to sell...he had no choice and that no public shaming of the university was going to change anything. He knew that working with the university to get the best deal they could was the way to go.  Thus, Hunter, who wanted to stick his head in the sand and play the martyr roll was cut out and did not know until two weeks after the deal that the above deal had been agreed upon. They now have a year at a rent of $1 to figure out their next move...and oh, that wad of cash as well...way way over appraised value.

I hate that this has happened, but all one had to do was "look around" to know the inevitable was approaching and pretty darn fast. The university area has lost quite a few of these locally owned small businesses over the years, and that is a shame.  But, also a sign of the times and not specific or limited to UNT. Some say, well, gee, they can't move and re-open elsewhere as it just wouldn't be the same.  Maybe true...maybe not.  They have VERY little equipment and furniture that could easily be moved to a new location and UNT would gladly allow them to take everything they wanted to take. So, sure, not the easiest of things to do and certainly a tad risky for the business, but they have one year to figure it out (one year from the date of the signing of the agreement...whenever that was or will be). If you want to, a year is plenty of time to figure it all out. And, who knows, it might even stretch well past that one year date.

While sad that another small business will go away from the university area,  and be taken off the tax rolls, it is an opportunity. It is up to the current ownership to do what they will with that opportunity.  I wish them nothing but the best of luck and am most happy that the attempt at "public shaming" of UNT will end. As anyone with a cool head and a business sense knew...this was going to be the end result. UNT was going to buy that property. They did...and Ken got a good deal. Now...on to the next adventure for the Sub Hub...I hope.

Car wash and bookstore up next in the negotiations...maybe Hunter can help them out with a cool attempt at public shaming...worked so well for him, right?  Ha! Me thinks the car wash and bookstore owners are more on the business acumen of Ken rather than Hunter. WE shall see...we shall see.

Edited February 22, 2020 by KRAM1

[untcampbell]

Does this include stadium naming rights?

Headine soon to follow: Fall 2020 tuition to rise 3.0%. 

GMG

[HoustonEagle]

On 2/22/2020 at 11:09 AM, KRAM1 said:

Easy answer...they needed adults in the room. Ken, being the adult, knew from the beginning that he would have to sell...he had no choice and that no public shaming of the university was going to change anything. He knew that working with the university to get the best deal they could was the way to go.  Thus, Hunter, who wanted to stick his head in the sand and play the martyr roll was cut out and did not know until two weeks after the deal that the above deal had been agreed upon. They now have a year at a rent of $1 to figure out their next move...and oh, that wad of cash as well...way way over appraised value.

I hate that this has happened, but all one had to do was "look around" to know the inevitable was approaching and pretty darn fast. The university area has lost quite a few of these locally owned small businesses over the years, and that is a shame.  But, also a sign of the times and not specific or limited to UNT. Some say, well, gee, they can't move and re-open elsewhere as it just wouldn't be the same.  Maybe true...maybe not.  They have VERY little equipment and furniture that could easily be moved to a new location and UNT would gladly allow them to take everything they wanted to take. So, sure, not the easiest of things to do and certainly a tad risky for the business, but they have one year to figure it out (one year from the date of the signing of the agreement...whenever that was or will be). If you want to, a year is plenty of time to figure it all out. And, who knows, it might even stretch well past that one year date.

While sad that another small business will go away from the university area,  and be taken off the tax rolls, it is an opportunity. It is up to the current ownership to do what they will with that opportunity.  I wish them nothing but the best of luck and am most happy that the attempt at "public shaming" of UNT will end. As anyone with a cool head and a business sense knew...this was going to be the end result. UNT was going to buy that property. They did...and Ken got a good deal. Now...on to the next adventure for the Sub Hub...I hope.

Car wash and bookstore up next in the negotiations...maybe Hunter can help them out with a cool attempt at public shaming...worked so well for him, right?  Ha! Me thinks the car wash and bookstore owners are more on the business acumen of Ken rather than Hunter. WE shall see...we shall see.

I don't know these people and I don't know the situation. So you can correct me with first hand knowledge and I will be better off for it.  That said, I think the family played this brilliantly.  Hunter took the unwavering  hard-line stance.  That allowed the father to come in and negotiate a deal from a position of strength and walk away with twice as much money and better terms than the offer they had less than a year ago. Hunter says he did not know and walks away with no egg on his face.   They also managed to set a higher print and raise the basis for the car wash and book store.  I bet they are thankful. 

 

 

[UNTLifer]

43 minutes ago, HoustonEagle said:

I don't know these people and I don't know the situation. So you can correct me with first hand knowledge and I will be better off for it.  That said, I think the family played this brilliantly.  Hunter took the unwavering  hard-line stance.  That allowed the father to come in and negotiate a deal from a position of strength and walk away with twice as much money and better terms than the offer they had less than a year ago. Hunter says he did not know and walks away with no egg on his face.   They also managed to set a higher print and raise the basis for the car wash and book store.  I bet they are thankful. 

 

 

Could be.  I saw a letter put out on Facebook by Hunter, and he stated that his father worked the deal and that he wasn't getting any of the money from the sale.  I found that interesting.  If I can located the letter, I will post it.

[KRAM1]

1 hour ago, HoustonEagle said:

I don't know these people and I don't know the situation. So you can correct me with first hand knowledge and I will be better off for it.  That said, I think the family played this brilliantly.  Hunter took the unwavering  hard-line stance.  That allowed the father to come in and negotiate a deal from a position of strength and walk away with twice as much money and better terms than the offer they had less than a year ago. Hunter says he did not know and walks away with no egg on his face.   They also managed to set a higher print and raise the basis for the car wash and book store.  I bet they are thankful. 

 

 

 

53 minutes ago, UNTLifer said:

Could be.  I saw a letter put out on Facebook by Hunter, and he stated that his father worked the deal and that he wasn't getting any of the money from the sale.  I found that interesting.  If I can located the letter, I will post it.

Again, simple answer is "no". In no way was this a concerted effort or planned family strategy. The "family dynamics" are such that it would not be feasible. Hunter has stated publicly that he did not even know his father was in town signing a deal with UNT to sell the property. Hunter owns the "business" not the real estate. Father owns the real estate. About all I think appropriate to post regarding this situation.

[Stix]

13 hours ago, HoustonEagle said:

I don't know these people and I don't know the situation. So you can correct me with first hand knowledge and I will be better off for it.  That said, I think the family played this brilliantly.  Hunter took the unwavering  hard-line stance.  That allowed the father to come in and negotiate a deal from a position of strength and walk away with twice as much money and better terms than the offer they had less than a year ago. Hunter says he did not know and walks away with no egg on his face.   They also managed to set a higher print and raise the basis for the car wash and book store.  I bet they are thankful. 

 

 

I was beginning to think "good cop, bad cop" too.

[KRAM1]

13 hours ago, Stix said:

I was beginning to think "good cop, bad cop" too.

Nope...they don’t have the relationship...sadly enough.