Japanese Businessman to Buy Seized Texas Project

The government agreed to sell a ritzy Texas real estate development that was seized from a failed savings and loan to a Japanese businessman for $61 million.

The price for the Stonebridge Ranch is far below the $300 million it cost to develop but within the $45-million to $85-million range expected, officials said.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. accepted the bid Wednesday from Yukio Kitano of Osaka, Japan. The agency announced it would recommend that a federal bankruptcy judge who has veto power over the transaction approve the sale.

The FDIC gained control of 6,230-acre development in 1988 when it shut down Gibraltar Savings Assn., one of the state’s largest thrifts. The development is in McKinney, north of Dallas.

The government placed the development into bankruptcy to void a controversial high-priced management contract it had blamed for stalling a sale of the property.

Two other bids were received, but FDIC officials refused to identify the bidders or the size of their offers.

The FDIC said Kitano owns a majority stake in a bank in Honolulu.

Stonebridge Ranch is one of the largest mixed-use developments in the country; 270 homes are already occupied and 394 home sites are sold. There is zoning for a total of 27,500 homes, permits for 91 million square feet of retail, commercial, office, research and industrial space.

The development also includes two country clubs with championship golf courses, lakes, biking and horse-riding trails, tennis courts and other recreational facilities.