Porter Hedges Secures $15.35 Million Victory for Texas Developer in Eminent Domain Case

Porter Hedges recently secured a $15.35 million agreed judgment for Haven at M LLC (“Haven”), an affiliate of multi-family developer Ascendant Development, LLC, in an eminent domain dispute related to a student housing project in Huntsville, Texas.

In 2019, the Texas Department of Transportation (“TXDOT”) offered Haven $519,689 for a highway expansion taking which would drastically change the site layout of a 544-bed student housing project that was already under construction. The taking impacted the project's clubhouse, pool, apartment buildings, and utilities, as well as a large, engineered in-ground storm water detention system, all of which had to be reconfigured as a result of the taking.

Following case analysis and development, as well as implementation of a cure for the taking, a final agreed judgment was entered in favor of Haven for $15.35 million as compensation for the taking. Porter Hedges guided Haven through the unusual eminent domain process with TXDOT, which included the implementation of a significant cure plan, to allow the project to successfully open in 2022.

For more details, please see the final judgment here.