Keller ISD set to acquire land from motel planned across from elementary school
KELLER —There may finally be a resolution after a Studio 6 Motel was planned to start construction across the street from Basswood Elementary School back in February.
Keller Independent School District joined in with angry parents and convinced the developer, Basswood Investments LLC, to halt construction as they looked for solutions together.
And finally, they may have found one. A representative from Studio 6 says in part, "The owner of the Studio 6 hotel at 3044 Clay Mountain Trail has decided to stop construction on this location."
But we're told it wasn't exactly a compromise.
Thursday, the school board has two related items on their agenda, the first is a vote to buy the 2.22-acre property.
The other is to vote on whether to use their power of eminent domain, essentially forcing Basswood Investments to sell it to them.
Sources with Basswood Investments LLC say because the district was planning to use eminent domain, they had no choice but to accept the offer on Wednesday, which was far lower than the cost spent prepping the project.
Thursday night, the school board approved the purchase.
"The safety and security of our students and staff is our top priority," said KISD Board President Dr. Charles Randklev. "Once the School Board and District were notified, we acted quickly to reach an agreement with the developer that protects our Basswood Elementary students, staff, and families. Now, instead of an extended-stay motel, our community will enjoy more green space with [the] potential for a park. I appreciate the City of Fort Worth's help with resolving this matter and working with us to ensure this doesn't happen again."
Parents are glad to hear Keller ISD take measures to ensure their children's safety but understand the significant loss for the builder.
"If that hotel were to be constructed, the safety of the kids would be compromised," said Bayardo Bonilla. "It's unfortunate for the builder that it came to this point."
It's not lost on them that this has been an expensive battle for everyone, that could have been avoided in the first place with simple communication.
The KISD still claims the city never notified them about the build in time to fight it, while the city claims the district didn't provide updated contact information for the district when the notice went to an old employee email.
Others argue the hotel should never have been approved by the council to be built in the first place, even though the lot is located in a light industrial zoning area. Parents have also questioned why the school was built in an area zoned for such use, all those years ago.
"There's been a lot of missteps from everyone, but the kids can't pay the price for that," Bonilla said. "What can we do from this point on to learn from this situation so it doesn't happen again, anywhere else in the City of Fort Worth?"
Keller ISD said it will begin work on its immediate plans for the land and share those with families at a future date.
