This picture cracked me up, not so funny obviously for the homeowners who refuse to sell. I would have sold while I had leverage.
They actually never had leverage. Kemah never held a public hearing about the coaster and would not consider the homeowner concerns before construction had begun.
According to the Chron article accompanying the picture, a lawsuit is too expensive for the homeowners. They refuse to sell. It sucks for them. No one but Fertitta will buy that property.
There are only a few homes and they can't afford/don't want the hassle of a lawsuit. Since the city of Kemah is on the side of Fertita and Landry's has a lot more money than they do, they consider it not worth the effort. Read the Chron story today. It explains a lot. And, yeah, Landry's does own this.
Weird, we had a bunch of friends in town from Clear Lake this weekend and we were talking about that roller coaster and all the other changes to the area. Clear Lake and Kemah are becoming freaking entertainment districts.
Most of the property values have quadrupled (or more) in that area, so they can cash out for a TON if they want. Plus, two of the houses close to that spot were purchased in the last two years. They knew what they were getting into.
1. I doubt the value of THIS house has quadrupled. 2. Landry's didn't disclose they were building a freaking rollercoaster. Neihbors didn't find out until the wood was being delivered to the site and put 2 and 2 together. So they DIDN'T know what they were getting into.
I didn't think of it that way. I'm sure they won't be selling for a "loss." They purchased in 1962...I don't know what the purchase price was or how much it is worth today but it's safe to say it's worth (a lot) more even with a rollercoaster in the backyard.
Don't believe everything you read. I am friends with the mayor of Kemah, and he told me those roller coaster plans have been known for years. This article only focuses on this one house. There is a previous article written a few months ago that talked to other neighbors. One man bought his house less than six months ago, yet was complaining about the coaster being too close.
Galveston Central appraisal district online history only goes back to 2002...then, the house was worth $42,890 and the land was $272,740. Today those numbers are $80,080 and $280,720. Anybody wanna guess what that land was worth 10-15 years ago? Not that much, I can assure you.
Fair enough. But the city of Kemah has a vested interest to faciliate anything for Landry's. So I'll take what the mayor says with a grain of salt. Did Landry's have a public hearing? Was the public honestly invited to that hearing? Did Landry's post a big sign on the property to notify the public about this project ...like we do in Houston for "variances." It seems to me that Landry's and Kemah has been more interested to building businesses and increasing the tax base than protecting it's residents. You gotta find a happy medium. If the guy bought the house in 1962, he was obviously there first and is attached to his home. Regardless of value, it's a shame when long time residents get forced out of their homes.
