As a bar owner stands his ground against the city and state over the forced sale of his property for the Alamo museum, he is awaiting a final offer from city officials and beginning the process of having an appraiser determine the value of his business.
Vince Cantu owns Moses Rose’s Hideout, a bar near Alamo Plaza, that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Alamo Trust want to acquire for its planned Alamo Visitor Center and Museum.
As ongoing negotiations over a selling price reached a standstill last year, the City of San Antonio, acting on behalf of the GLO, approved an ordinance in January that allows for the seizure of Cantu’s property through eminent domain.
Cantu rejected the latest offer from the City of San Antonio of $4 million and relocation assistance funds, and countered with $6 million, plus $4 million for the loss of his business. He previously sought $17 million.
Cantu met with business valuation appraisers RSI & Associates on Tuesday to start determining how much his business is worth based on projected revenue he will lose if he sells — and hoping a settlement can be reached with the city and state.
The property has become an obstacle in a joint effort by the city, state and Alamo Trust to construct a $150 million Alamo Visitor Center and Museum, part of a $400 million plan to redevelop Alamo Plaza.
If neither party can agree to a price, Cantu said he plans to file a lawsuit against the city for unlawfully threatening condemnation through eminent domain.
“If it’s not an offer that we’re going to accept — they’ve all been sort of on the lowball side — then we’re going to have to initiate some lawsuits and contest whether they’re even using eminent domain legally, which we don’t think they are,” Cantu said.
He said there are several reasons why he believes the City and GLO are breaking the law in trying to take his property.
The GLO’s plans to turn the Woolworth Building — next door to Cantu’s bar — into an Alamo museum, with a 4-D theater in place of the bar, is not a direct municipal project, he contends.
Thus he believes the city, which entered into a cooperative agreement with the GLO in 2019 to redevelop Alamo Plaza, does not have the authority to use eminent domain according to state law.
And while the GLO could have gone to the state Legislature for that authority, Cantu and his attorney believe there would be no political support for it.
Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who was elected last November, and GLO officials are “trying to keep their profile out of this whole messy business of eminent domaining private property on the grounds of Texas freedom,” Cantu said.
The initial offer letter from the city also stated that in addition to the $4 million for Cantu’s property, it would provide $100,000 to relocate the bar business to another property across the street, at 517 E. Houston St.
That property, a 10,000-square-foot storefront in the 1920 Sol Frank building, is owned by Michael Litofsky, according to county tax records.
If Cantu agrees to the move, the GLO would attempt to purchase the property and become Cantu’s landlord, charging fair market value for the lease. If not, the City would instead consider paying Cantu for projected lost revenue based on the third-party appraisal.
Dan Eldredge, the attorney representing Cantu, said his client is working with the business appraiser in the hopes that it will lead to “good faith” in the negotiation process.
But the threat of eminent domain is still hanging over them like “a big wet, sticky blanket,” Eldredge said.
“My hope is … is that they’ve realized that they’ve gone too far, that they cannot lawfully exercise eminent domain to buy this property and they’re kind of standing down,” Eldredge said.
City Attorney Andy Segovia said eminent domain is a long-established legal principle and is allowed under state law.
“The city is operating within the established condemnation process,” he said in an email to the San Antonio Report. “We will continue to work on a resolution, whether that is done through a negotiated agreement or through the legal condemnation process.”
Alamo officials said Tuesday they would provide a statement on the status of the negotiations but did not send one in time for publication.
The San Antonio Report filed an open records request in late January asking for copies of correspondence involving city officials, the Alamo Trust, the GLO and Cantu in an effort to trace the history of the negotiations.
In response, the city recently sent a letter to the state Attorney General’s office asking for a review and consideration to deny the request due to “pending litigation.”
If the city and the GLO move forward with eminent domain proceedings, filing the case in probate court as is typical in such cases, Cantu will fight back with his own lawsuit, Eldredge said.
In addition to his argument that the city can’t lawfully take the property using eminent domain on behalf of the GLO, Eldredge also plans to show that the planned theater is simply a money-making tool for the state-run museum and that the museum could exist without it.
Museums are among the type of development for which private property can be taken through the use of eminent domain, according to Title 10, Subtitle E, Chapter 2206 of the statute.
But state law says that a government entity can’t take private property through the use of eminent domain “if the taking is for economic development purposes, unless [it] is a secondary purpose resulting from municipal community development or municipal urban renewal activities to eliminate an existing affirmative harm on society from slum or blighted areas.”
Segovia said the museum’s purpose is not economic development. “The purpose is to build a museum and visitor center for the most historic site in Texas,” he said.
The bar owner and his attorney remain confident that they will win a battle that began almost five years ago when the Alamo Trust first made an offer for the property, then later suggested it could be taken via eminent domain.
“The problem is, it’s a long battle to fight,” Eldredge said.
This article has been updated to clarify Vince Cantu’s previous asking price for Moses Rose’s Hideout and correctly reflect the cost of the Alamo redevelopment project.
