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Council endorses purchase of 46.35 acres for flood detention and future development
Summary
Eagle Pass council voted Aug. 5 to move forward with purchasing about 46.35 acres adjacent to Main Street to create a detention pond to reduce downstream flooding and to enable future commercial frontage that could help fund construction.
The Eagle Pass City Council on Aug. 5 approved a resolution allowing the city to purchase approximately 46.35 acres near East Main Street for flood management and potential future commercial development.
City staff and consultants explained that the parcel — located adjacent to Skillet restaurant on Main Street — appears in the 2020 drainage master plan as a candidate site for a detention pond to increase stormwater capacity and reduce flooding in downstream neighborhoods, including Foxborough. The property’s development as a detention facility could remove dozens of residential structures from floodplains: staff cited estimates that construction could remove about 67 structures from the 10‑year floodplain and about 114 from the 100‑year floodplain, depending on final design.
Council heard that a 2023 opinion of probable construction cost for a detention project ranged from $1.5 million to $1.9 million. Staff said the property also has frontage on Main Street suitable for commercial development; sale or lease of that frontage could offset project costs. Council voted to proceed with the purchase; staff reported negotiations with owner representatives and said an offer had been accepted pending council authorization.
Why it matters: The parcel purchase is part of a strategic flood‑management plan to reduce repetitive flooding risks and enable economic development possibilities; the project would be scoped and funded through a combination of design, construction costs, and potential proceeds from commercial frontage.
