Sec. 374.017. DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY

(a) Subject to the covenants, conditions, and restrictions, including covenants running with the land, that the municipality considers to be in the public interest or necessary to implement this chapter and that are written into the instrument transferring or conveying title, and after the governing body of the municipality approves the urban renewal plan, the municipality may:

(1) sell, lease, or otherwise transfer real property or an interest in real property in an urban renewal area for residential, recreational, commercial, industrial, or other uses, including a public use, and enter contracts relating to the transfer; or

(2) retain the property or interest for public use in accordance with the urban renewal plan.

(b) The original owner from whom property was acquired under this chapter by condemnation or through threat of condemnation has the first right to repurchase the property at the price at which it is offered.

(c) The purchaser or lessee of property transferred under this section, and a successor in interest to such a person, including an assignee, must devote the property to the uses specified in the urban renewal plan and may be obligated to comply with conditions specified in the deed of conveyance, including the requirement to begin any improvements required by the urban renewal plan within a reasonable time.

(d) Real property or an interest in real property subject to this section may only be sold, leased, or otherwise transferred or retained at not less than the fair value of the property for uses in accordance with the urban renewal plan. In determining the fair value, the municipality shall consider:

(1) the uses provided in the urban renewal plan;

(2) any restrictions on and any covenants, conditions, and obligations assumed by the purchaser, lessee, or municipality in retaining the property;

(3) the objectives of the plan for the prevention of the recurrence of slums or blighted areas; and

(4) any other matters that the municipality specifies as appropriate.

(e) The municipality or urban renewal agency may provide in an instrument of conveyance to a private purchaser or lessee that the purchaser or lessee may sell any or all of the unimproved property without profit to the seller. After improving a parcel of real property in accordance with the development plan adopted for the area, the purchaser may sell the parcel before completion of the development of the area or tract purchased, but the sale does not relieve that purchaser from the obligation of completing the development of that area or tract. The purchaser may sell a parcel of land purchased for redevelopment to another person who is obligated to improve the parcel as provided by the development plan for that project if the resale is without profit to the seller and if any subsequent purchaser is required to improve the property as provided by the urban renewal plan and by the conditions contained in the deed of conveyance.

(f) A municipality shall sell real property acquired by the municipality that is to be sold to private developers in accordance with the urban renewal plan as rapidly as is feasible in the public interest and consistent with the goals of the urban renewal plan. An instrument executed by a municipality or by an urban renewal agency that purports to convey any right, title, or interest in any property under this chapter is presumed to be executed in compliance with this chapter with respect to the title or interest of any bona fide lessee, transferee, or purchaser of the property.

(g) A municipality that sells real property in an urban renewal area to a private person must conduct the sale through competitive sealed bids after advertising the offer in the official publication or a newspaper of general circulation. The advertisement must be published once before the 15th day before the date of the sale and must invite bids for the purchase of real property in the urban renewal area either in whole or in parcels as determined by the municipality. Before advertising for bids, the municipality shall adopt as part of the specifications in the general plan of improvement any conditions binding on the purchaser or the purchaser's successors in title, including heirs and assignees. The municipality or urban renewal agency may accept the highest and best responsible bid. The purchase price must be paid in cash. If the municipality or agency determines that the bids received are not satisfactory, it may reject all the bids and readvertise the offer. The urban renewal agency may not sell the property until the price and conditions of sale are approved by the governing body of the municipality. The municipality shall sell any real property acquired in connection with an urban renewal and rehabilitation project within a reasonable time for the purposes applicable to each project, except for the property retained by the municipality for public use. Property to be resold shall be sold within a reasonable time, taking into account the general economic situation at the time of sale.

(h) The municipality may temporarily lease any real property acquired in an urban renewal area, except property that is not fit for human habitation or that is declared substandard by any governmental agency. The lease must provide for a right of cancellation that permits the municipality to sell or dispose of the property for the purposes of this chapter.

(i) The former owner of any real property that is acquired under this chapter and that is not dedicated within a reasonable time to the purposes applicable to the urban renewal project for which it was acquired is entitled, after notice, to repurchase the property at the price for which it was acquired, less any actual damages sustained by the former owner because of the taking of the property, unless the property is devoted to the urban renewal purposes within 60 days after the date the former owner gives the record owner and the municipality written notice of the intention to exercise the right of repurchase. After a repurchase, any buildings placed on or allowed to remain on the property must conform to the pattern and intent of the urban renewal project if the project is completed.

(j) Any purchaser or lessee who is a private developer of any part of the real property acquired under this chapter may use that property as security to finance the development of the property. The purchaser or lessee may execute and deliver to a lender notes, deeds of trust with powers of sale, mortgages, and other instruments required in connection with obtaining and securing the repayment of the loan. The purchaser or lessee has all the rights, titles, and incidents of ownership available to a purchaser or lessee of land generally, and the person is entitled to mortgage and encumber the property for either the purchase price or for improvements in accordance with the objectives of this chapter. Any subsequent owner or lessee who acquires title through foreclosure of a lien given to secure the indebtedness or through a conveyance or assignment in satisfaction of debt takes title subject only to the restrictive covenants related to the use and improvement of the land that are contained in the original conveyance from the municipality. The owner's or lessee's interest is not subject to any condition precedent or condition subsequent that would result in reverter or forfeiture of title or to any restraint as to the amount for which the property may be resold or leased.

(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or of any other law relating to competitive bid requirements, a municipality or urban renewal agency may sell urban renewal land for uses in accordance with an urban renewal plan to a public or private nonprofit corporation or foundation. The sale must be for at least the fair market value of the land as determined by the municipality or urban renewal agency.

Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.