This maketh me unto puke. It also maketh me unto canceling my Excel long distance service. The nouveau riche are so tacky!

J. R. Ewing

Friday | December 8, 2000

Exec pays $30 million for lots for one 'fabulous' Dallas home

12/08/2000

By Steve Brown / The Dallas Morning News

The neighborhoods along Inwood Road boast some of North Dallas' priciest residential enclaves, but an estate planned by a local telecommunications executive promises to break new ground for high-priced housing.

Excel Communications founder Kenny Troutt isn't moving into the neighborhood – he's buying it.

Mr. Troutt has bought almost 30 acres at the southwest corner of Inwood and Royal Lane in the last few months. Property agents estimate the total cost at more than $30 million, which would make it the most expensive residential lot ever assembled in the Dallas area.

The property was acquired from more than a half-dozen owners and includes houses and vacant lots. The largest tract, at the west end of Middlegate Road, was purchased from Dallas Stars hockey center Mike Modano for more than $5 million, property agents say.

Mr. Troutt and his wife, Lisa, intend "to build a fabulous single-family home," said Ellen Terry, whose residential sales firm handled the purchases. "Obviously, it's not every day that someone tries to do this in an area like that."

Mr. Troutt couldn't be reached for comment about his plans.

Property in the neighborhood between Inwood Road and Strait Lane regularly sells for more than $1 million an acre. Nearby estates regularly fetch millions more.

But the Troutt property – which straddles Middlegate Road and runs west to Bachman Creek – is the equivalent of several city blocks.

"This kind of purchase is just unprecedented," said real-estate agent Bettie Abio. "If you are not amazed by it, then you are pretty jaundiced."

Earlier this year, a nearby Park Lane mansion sold for an estimated $22 million, the previous record for a single-family property in Dallas.

"We've seen some of the biggest sales ever to take place in Dallas in 2000," Ms. Terry added.

Luxury home sales include the $15.75 million that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban paid for his house and businessman Jean Boulle's purchase of a $13.5 million home.

Also, former Gov. Bill Clements' Highland Park mansion sold for almost $17 million, and the H.L. Hunt estate on White Rock Lake fetched more than $10 million.

"The sales just keep getting bigger and bigger," Ms. Terry said. "There are a number of people with money who feel real estate is the best investment to have."

Mr. Troutt has had pretty good luck with his other investments.

Two years ago, he sold Excel, the long-distance phone company he founded, to a Canadian telecommunications company for $3.5 billion. Mr. Troutt is still Excel's chairman.

He and his wife now live across the street from Ross Perot, a couple of blocks away from the Inwood property.

Real estate brokers say when Mr. Troutt finishes with his estate, it could be valued at more than $50 million.

"Oh, my gosh, what a trophy house they are going to be able to build on that land," said agent Jennie Ling, who's been selling North Dallas homes for almost 30 years. "The high-end home market isn't slowing down.

"I just sold two houses last week for more than $1.5 million apiece," she said. "Of course, that's not a lot compared to what the Troutts are planning."

Mr. Troutt's purchase seems tame compared with a recent buy made by his former Excel partner, Steve Smith.

Mr. Smith spent $4.2 million last year to acquire the West Texas town of Lajitas in Big Bend. Mr. Smith plans to develop parts of Lajitas, which has about 200 residents, into a golf resort.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), December 08, 2000

Answers

But look at the bright side -- you'll never have to worry about Ross Perot taking over the Community Watch Program.

-- I'm Here, I'm There, (I'm Everywhere,@So.Beware), December 08, 2000.