Meadow Park, a large undeveloped property across from the Kroger, at Central Drive and Harwood Road, may soon be going up for sale, according to its owner of 55 years, the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District (HEB ISD).  “The District does plan to begin the process of considering the sale,” confirmed Deanne Hullender, Chief Public Relations & Marketing Officer for HEB ISD.  With no timeline yet, she stated that “in the event a decision to sell is made [by the School Board], we will follow the usual process of a public offering, as is required by law.”

The property covers approximately 57 acres with rolling hills covered with grass and trees.  This includes Bedford’s Bark Park and a segment of the Linear Trails, plus a couple of baseball fields and two youth soccer fields that make up the Meadow Park Athletic Complex along the east side of the property.

The property was last valued by the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) at approximately $4.6 million, however, some informal estimates, believe the property could be worth considerably more.  The true value, of course, would be determined once it is sold.

Also, according to TAD, an additional 1.6 acres of land on the east side, shaped as a wedge or right triangle by the Bark Park, is owned by Oncor Electric Delivery, which was last appraised at $27,200.  Although the District does not own this part of the park, Hullender said, “we do not anticipate this will have any impact on the sale of the property.”

The park, according to City of Bedford records, is zoned as an R15 single-family residential classification.  This means that if bought by a developer and divided into lots for homes, the zoning would require minimum lot sizes of 15,000 square feet, which would equal about a third of an acre each.

Bedford’s Director of Communication Molly Fox acknowledged the City is aware of HEB ISD’s intention to sell Meadow Park and is in “constant communication with the District.”  However, she said the City has yet to be approached “to hold serious discussions about the property.”  In the meantime, she stated, “The City has already started exploring new locations for a future dog park.”

“When the land is sold,” Fox explained, “any future developer will need to go through the City of Bedford development process.  This will include approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council for any proposed zoning changes, site plans, etc.”

The consensus among at least a few City Council members is that the City has limited influence on any sale of Meadow Park, other than working with which ever developer buys the property.

“Unfortunately, Bedford made the mistake in 1969 of selling this property to HEB ISD, said Bedford Mayor Dan Cogan, “which limits our ability to ultimately control what goes there.”  

Originally, HEB ISD bought Meadow Park with the intention of building a third high school.

Any development at Meadow Park, Cogan said, “could include residential and commercial components while also preserving mature trees with designated park space.”  But he acknowledged the City is “unable to change the zoning to designate it as a ‘park.’”  That, he said, “would be considered a ‘taking’ of the property and is illegal.”