Texas nears purchase of state park

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is on the verge of buying 500 acres of Lake Colorado City State Park in Mitchell County.

TPWD commissioners voted unanimously Thursday to authorize acquisition of the property, which is about 260 miles west of Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported. The TPWD has been leasing the land from Irving-based Vistra Corporation for more than 50 years. 

This follows the dustup over Todd Interests’ purchase of Fairfield Lake State Park in June. The commission has attempted to retake the property by eminent domain. On Tuesday, Todd’s lawyer called for commission chair Arch “Beaver” Aplin III to resign, and Gov. Greg Abbott appointed a replacement on Thursday.

Earlier this year, Texas lawmakers allocated $125 million for park acquisition statewide. The department’s goal is to “preserve public access to the state park and allow future expansion of the park’s recreational opportunities.” 

“This makes all the sense in the world,” Aplin told the outlet. “I believe we’ve had a meeting of the minds on being able to do it. This will allow us to secure one of our parks for the long term and be able to own it.”

Vistra, an energy company led by Jim Burke, also sold the closed Fairfield Lake State Park. Dallas-based Todd wants to turn the park into a $1 billion private resort with 400 luxury homes and a golf course.

The state is taking action to avoid a similar situation with Lake Colorado City State Park. Vistra previously said that it was prepared to sell the land to the state of Texas.

—Quinn Donoghue 

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