Initial agreement reached on sale of the cleaned-up Tex Tin Superfund Site

An initial agreement has been reached between the Tex Tin Site Custodial Trustee and a California-based real estate developer group for the sale of the cleaned-up Tex Tin Superfund Site. The approximately 130-acre property, located at the intersection of Highways 146 and 519 in Texas City, has been the scene of a major U.S. Superfund remediation, and is one of only two such sites in the nation to be granted a full "Ready for Re-Use" certification by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The other certified site is a smaller tract, originally part of the Tex Tin site, that was cleaned up earlier by BP Amoco.

The buyers are Kristofer Wachter and Bret Braden, managing partners of Phoenix International Terminal, LLC, the company that will be developing the property. Tex Tin Site Custodial Trustee John Bredthauer, in announcing the signing of the memorandum of understanding, commented that the property-initially the site of a strategically vital World War II tin smelter-now is considered an ideal location for facilities that will support the advanced Texas City deep-water terminal at Shoal Point, now under construction. The new port facility is estimated to cost more than $600 million, and employ more than 1000 longshoremen and other terminal personnel. Bredthauer added that the EPA has conditionally approved the sale to Wachter and Braden. The two have more than 35 years of combined experience in the conversion of formerly contaminated sites into mixed-use developments.

The developers' plans for the property include warehouse distribution, freight forwarding, container repacking and storage facilities, and a full-service truck stop.

Funding for the Tex Tin clean-up has been provided by both the United States government and private companies. Bredthauer points out that many people and entities have played vital roles in successfully bringing the Tex Tin project to this point. "The prevalent attitude", Bredthauer said, "has been one of cooperation and support, at local, state and national levels. Officials of the City of Texas City-especially former Mayors Carlos Garza and Chuck Doyle; the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ); the EPA and the private companies all have worked diligently together to get the Tex Tin clean-up safely done ahead of schedule and under budget. Current Texas City Mayor Matt Doyle has also fully supported the project.

Dallas-based EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene, in expressing his agency's enthusiasm for the Tex Tin outcome, commented "This is what the EPA's 'Ready for Re-use program is all about-bringing an underused waste site back into productive use. I am delighted that buyers have come forward to develop the Tex Tin property, closing the loop on years of effort by people at every level of government. I look forward to visiting this site in the future, when it is a vital and productive part of the Texas City economy."

John Bredthauer pointed out that the city's redevelopment committee-funded by an EPA grant to Texas City and guided by Doug Hoover, the city's director of management services-has played a vital role in structuring the potential future of the Tex Tin property. "The result now", Bredthauer said, "is that, unlike numerous fenced-in environmental Superfund sites, we have a property that can once again contribute to the economy of the area, providing jobs and adding tax revenues to local government."

The property transaction is expected to close within four months, and upon closing the buyers will begin infrastructure and building designs and tenant negotiations, with the build-out to coincide with the needs of the new terminal container port, which is planned for a late 2006 start-up.