In Fort Worth Federal Court, a Complex Fight Concerning Arlington and Jerryworld

The Enclave at Arlington apartment complex touts itself as "within walking distance of the Texas Rangers Ballpark, Hurricane Harbor, and Six Flags," and is now more or less a next-door neighbor of Jerry Jones's Enormodome. And, courtesy the Courthouse News Service, we find that the owners of the complex filed...

By Robert Wilonsky

March 13, 2009

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The Enclave at Arlington apartment complex touts itself as "within walking distance of the Texas Rangers Ballpark, Hurricane Harbor, and Six Flags," and is now more or less a next-door neighbor of Jerry Jones's Enormodome. And, courtesy the Courthouse News Service, we find that the owners of the complex filed suit against the city of Arlington this week in Fort Worth federal court, claiming the construction of the new Dallas Cowboys stadium has more or less cut off the complex from the rest of civilization, lowered its value and made getting in and out of the place next to impossible. And the owners say the Cowboys and the city never even offered to buy their property -- or have it condemned, for that matter.

Claims the complaint, it "appears the decision to forego condemnation proceedings on the apartment complex is, at best, poor and negligent planning on the part of the city and Cowboys, or, at worst, a calculated attempt to drive down the fair market value of the apartment complex in hopes of obtaining it at a severely reduced rate in the future." In the suit, the complex owners say they offer "high-quality, reasonably-priced" apartments to "middle-class and lower-middle class citizens." According to the Arlington Police Department's Web site, the complex has been the site of at least 13 calls to police in recent months, for everything from aggravated and domestic assaults to reports of the "mentally ill" on the property.

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