SAN ANTONIO — Years of negotiating will continue after the owner of a downtown bar says his ‘best and final offer’ for his property wasn’t met.
Vince Cantu, owner of Moses Rose’s Hideout said in a statement his latest asking price at $10.5 million, including $6.5 million for the property based on appreciation for the next ten years and $4 million for the business based on loss of revenue. The latest offer for the property was rejected, he says.
Two months since the city authorized the use of eminent domain, an agreement hasn’t been met. Under state law, a condemnation proceeding could be looming.
The condemning authority must file a petition with the probate court. But the city says a petition hasn’t been filed yet.
“Even though the property code suggests that this process could happen quickly, and it could, it could also take a really long time,” Emilio Longoria, a law professor at St. Mary’s University tells KENS 5.
The condemnation process, if it reaches that point, would mean three disinterested property owners in Bexar County would be appointed to a commission to determine the value of the property.
According to a city spokeswoman, the city hasn’t submitted a final offer yet. Their latest bid of $4 million on February 20 was rejected.
“The City, Alamo, and the Texas General Land Office are still in substantive discussions with Mr. Cantu’s attorney to determine the value on this property. We will continue to work on a resolution, whether that is done through a negotiated agreement or through the legal condemnation process,” City Attorney Andy Segovia said in a statement.
The Alamo Trust says the property is needed, otherwise a 4D Theater won’t fit on the new Visitors Center site. The property is also needed for a loading dock. Other impacts include the retail area and its connectivity to exhibits would be greatly limited.
Cantu’s asking price started at $17 million in 2020 according to the Trust. During the eminent domain vote in January 2023, he said he would entertain offers around $8 million.
Although Cantu’s asking price is in the millions, records obtained by KENS 5 show Cantu valued the bar at $527,107 in 2022 during the property appraisal appeals process.
GLO Commissioner Dawn Buckingham says they have made every attempt to negotiate in good faith with Cantu.
“Now that Texans’ tax dollars are at stake, he is demanding over 20 times that [$500,000] value. In addition to offering him eight times what he stated his property is worth, we have offered to build and move him into a property across the street – which he has declined,” Buckingham said in part of a statement.
Cantu has repeatedly stated he and his family would be walking away from generational wealth if they sold the bar.
Longoria says determining the value of a property under eminent domain law can be difficult.
“The law doesn’t value your property at its current use, it values it as its highest and best use,” Longoria said.
“What is the highest and best way the property could reasonably be used…Should the property be valued in that way as opposed to its current form as a bar? And if that’s the question, it becomes a lot harder to figure out what actually is owed to the property owner,” Longoria adds.
The Alamo Trust wants to begin construction of the new visitor’s center this summer, with plans to open the new museum in early 2026.