I saw that yesterday. It’s pretty disgusting, in my opinion.
I generally dislike condemnations anyway, but they’re a necessary evil for things like roads and pipelines. Using it for hospital expansion is not a necessary evil - there’s other land available, even though it may not be a preferred option. Government takings should never be used to enhance profit. This just makes it kind of clear that Texas doesn’t really recognize individual property ownership, if you can lose what’s rightfully yours when a municipality decides that convenience dictates it.
And the family is absolutely correct in that they should have been contacted. The condemnations I’ve worked on all started with legitimate attempts to buy the property from the owners.
Very interesting conundrum - condemnation of
property for common good vs public common good of park green space.
I would think the land should revert back to the family and Hermann Health should pay the owners for it ; if settlement can’t be reached, then it should go to condemnation route. I’d be interested in how the lawyers view this scenario.
Imho, they build a trauma center expansion in many places but we can’t create more park green space in the heart of the city.
This is the crux of it.
There are surface parking lots all around the area that could be converted to a garage with whatever they want to build on top of it. It seems like they went right to “let’s take some more land” instead of working on other options. That’s not how condemnation powers should be used.
I hope the family fights this.
Why was this land chosen instead of some of the land that fronts Rice University?
Lack of land is what made the Med Center what it is today. The super close forced proximity to each other creating high density. It’s like a mini Manhattan. Plus you get some creative architecture solutions to limited spaces. I say, forget taking the park space, and make them build something on existing land. As 91 said, there’s still space in the Med Center.
We’ve gone too far down the impunity road.
This is almost as bad (just in reverse) as paving over the WH Rose Garden which belongs to We The People. 
(bad grammar noted)
The family needs to fight this tooth and nail and I’d be willing to bet the general public - minus those who might own stock in Ben Taub - would back them up 100%
We’re losing our collective minds and FOR WHAT? It’s disgusting! There are other solutions.
Why Hermann Health pay for it? Ben Taub is who wants to use it and that’s not part of Hermann Health, but part of the Harris County Hospital District.
My mistake; thanks for the correction !
Harris Health should have to pay owners
market value. Got the wrong “H” on my mind .
Yes I agree if they are going to condemn it, then it first reverts to the family and they should pay fmv. However, I hate to give up green space in Hermann park for this.
I think the real question is why isn’t the current Medical Center already enough?
What’s the root cause that justifies using Herman Park for land?
I’d guess it’s cheapest option for them.
Ben Taub is right next to Hermann Park so it makes sense as that is “vacant” land. Haven’t been over there recently but generally the medical center is pretty tightly packed.
The zoo is actually across Ben Taub. Houston population is growing, so we need more hospital space. Tax payers fund Harris Health.
If it’s that little portion between Cambridge and Braeswood, then I guess I can understand the argument
I can’t, because the land belongs to someone else. That’s kind of important.
From looking at the map, I would guess that is the section but I don’t know for sure. However, I can see why that would be an attractive plot to grow on. But just because it is logistically convenient, it doesn’t change the argument over the use and ownership.
Is that little parcel of land south of Ben Taub the land they want? I never knew it was part of Herman park. I always considered the boundary of the park as Cambridge Street. If that’s the land I can see how it makes sense to buy it. It’s cut off from the rest of the park, and Cambridge is a pretty busy street.
I agree… apparently business is good at Ben Taub, one of the best trauma ERs in the world. With all the stabbings, shootings and car wrecks, they need more beds. That “park” land will revert to the original donors and Harris County will pay them for it.
It’s the same way UH got the land for the Fertitta Family College of Medicine. That sliver of land between MLK and Brays Bayou was originally MacGregor Park land. COH never developed it for park uses, so it reverted back to the MacGregor family, and they sold it to UH.
Interestingly, the Harris Health CEO says that “eventually” this will become a land swap with Hermann Park. That “someday” the land under the existing Ben Taub will be given to Hermann Park. Sounds unlikely to me.
Not sure, I think we’re just speculating based on the map.
Probably happens about the same time the toll roads become free. lol