Council approves Golf Ranch land swap with Texas A&M; course changes hands Sept. 1

The Texarkana, Texas City Council on Monday approved a land trade that will hand the city-owned Texarkana Golf Ranch to the Texas A&M University System in exchange for 138 acres of vacant university land near Bringle Lake.

The vote finalizes a deal first briefed to the council by City Attorney Jeff Lewis, who described it as an even exchange with both properties carrying an agreed fair market value of about $2.5 million.

Documents in Monday’s agenda packet show how the city got to that number, and what happens next.

The deal

Under the agreement, the city gives up the Golf Ranch property at 7401 University Ave. and receives roughly 138 acres of A&M land between Clear Creek and the western edge of the Oakwood subdivision, with access from University Avenue and Deerwood Street.

The city will also pay Texarkana Golf Ranch LLC $1.23 million to buy out its leasehold interest and the golf course improvements, including the greens, irrigation system, clubhouse and maintenance building. The lease terminates Sept. 1.

The buyout agreement requires the tenant to keep operating and maintaining the course until then, but allows the business to wind down in advance. That includes limiting services, not restocking inventory and closing the course up to one week before the termination date.

Texas A&M administrators previously told TXKtoday the course will remain open to the public after the university takes control, and that the university plans extensive renovations. Lewis told the council the university is also considering a resident rate for local golfers. The agreements preserve the public nature trail around Bringle Lake.

What the appraisals say

Both tracts were appraised by Pam Bonds, MAI, following inspections on Feb. 25. The Golf Ranch land came in at $2,527,000 and the university tract at $2,484,000, a difference of $43,000.

At the city’s request, the golf course was appraised as if it were vacant land, with no improvements. The appraisal values the property, listed at approximately 266 acres, at $9,500 per acre. The university’s 138 acres was appraised at $18,000 per acre, nearly double the per-acre figure, using the same eight comparable sales.

Both appraisals carry notable caveats. No survey was provided for either tract, no environmental studies were performed, and both values assume the properties could be rezoned for residential development. The appraiser concluded the highest and best use of both sites is a mix of single-family, multifamily and light commercial development.

One comparable sale stands out in the reports: the A&M System’s own October 2024 purchase of 35 acres on University Drive for its planned sports complex. The university paid $7.77 million for that land, or about $219,000 per acre.

Ending a 25-year arrangement

The Golf Ranch opened under a June 2001 lease between the city and Hank Haney Golf Inc. That lease was replaced in July 2023 by an amended agreement with Texarkana Golf Ranch LLC, the current operator.

Under the buyout, the city takes ownership of all improvements on the property but does not assume any of the tenant’s business debts, contracts or employee obligations. The tenant must remove its personal property, clear any liens and cover its share of 2026 property taxes before the September closing.

The land the city receives is currently tax exempt as university property. Lewis previously told the council that developing it for housing would return the acreage to the tax rolls.

The Golf Ranch land is currently assessed at $665,000 for tax purposes, generating about $15,000 a year across the city, Pleasant Grove ISD and Texarkana College.