Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved a reimbursement agreement with Johnson Development in November that could repay the developer $20 million in property tax costs over 10 years for value added to the 2,000-acre former Camp Strake site. The deal could also provide substantial long-term property tax revenue to the county.

Johnson Development, which also has developed the Woodforest and Harmony developments in Montgomery County, was selected as the buyer by the Sam Houston Council of the Boys Scouts of America in July for a large-scale mixed-used development. Johnson COO Doug Goff said the sale of the land was finalized last week following the tax agreement's approval. Goff said the reimbursement agreements with the county and the city of Conroe were integral to the sale, and the developer would not have purchased the land otherwise.

"They were vital to making the deal work for us," Goff said. "The fact that a significant part of this land is to preserved because of it being in the floodplain and floodway, a significant part of it was undevelopable."

Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector J.R. Moore said the property has recently been assessed at $27.9 million, but Montgomery County has not received property tax revenue for the land for decades since it has been tax exempt by the county. Although the county will now begin to receive property tax revenue from that assessed value, the agreement provides some reimbursement for value added by the developer.

As part of the agreement, the county keeps the debt service portion of the property tax rate and 10 percent of the maintenance and operation portion, but the remainder will be refunded to Johnson Development up to $19.5 million over the next 10 years, Moore said. The agreement ends after the $19.5 million has been paid, and no money is reimbursed unless value is added to the former Camp Strake site.

"[The agreement] takes a piece of property that has generated zero revenue over the last 25-30 years, because it's been tax exempt, and turns it into a very valuable piece of property," said Precinct 2 Commissioner Craig Doyal. "It's a huge benefit to Montgomery County, and there won't be a penny of taxpayer money outside of the Camp Strake land used on this reimbursement."

Doyal, whose precinct includes the Camp Strake property, said the project could generate as much as $5.5 million in annual property tax revenue to the county upon its completion. He said the county also would not have to construct or maintain the roads or other services within the development since it falls within the city of Conroe's service area.

Not all commissioners were in favor of the deal. Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack voted against the agreement's passing. Noack said he did not believe commissioners had enough time to review the agreement, and does not agree with the county's $20 million future investment weeks after it was approved.

He said he does not believe Johnson Development can put $1 billion to $1.2 billion worth of development on the ground in eight years. Noack said the land is located in a flood plain, may have problems with sewage and may not be ideal for residential development. He said he also questions how quickly the property will develop without the use of tax abatements, which Johnson Development will not be able to offer because of how the reimbursement agreement is structured.

"I personally think Johnson Development bit off more than they could chew and decided that the easy way to fix it would be to ask the county and the city for some money to make it work," Noack said. "I hope it works, I really do. The county's invested in it now, the city of Conroe, the developer. I hope it's a huge success, but I don't want to spend taxpayer dollars on hopes and dreams or a flight of fancy. I want it to be something more concrete."

Goff confirmed the developer expects to add upwards of $1 billion worth of development, estimating it could take five to seven years, but the timeframe will be based on the market demand for whatever project is being developed. Although he could not confirm how much money the developer is fronting for the development, he said Johnson is providing "significant multiples" of Conroe and Montgomery County's combined contribution.

With the sale of the land finalized, Goff said Johnson Development would spend the next six months performing comprehensive land planning and land analysis for the property, with construction planned to begin sometime in 2015. He said the development will be a combination of retail, commercial and office uses with a variety of housing options and will likely include hotel and entertainment components.

Goff said the developer has had discussions with the Houston Astros in the past regarding a possible baseball stadium for the team's AAA affiliate.

"We have had conversations with the past, and now that we have closed on the land, there maybe could be some in the future," he said.