Houston Chronicle - Center makes deal with city to buy prime property

April 21, 2007, 12:04AM
Center makes deal with city to buy prime property
Retardation agency will pay the city less than market value for its prime tract

By MELANIE MARKLEY

The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation will pay the city $6 million to buy the prime inner-city property it has occupied for more than 40 years, ending weeks of negotiations over a disputed lease agreement.

The settlement was announced Friday by Mayor Bill White and David Baldwin, chairman of the center's foundation board, before a cheering crowd of residents who had feared losing their longtime home.