Texas AG Opens Probe Into Dubai Developer's Planned Community
A planned 2,300-acre mixed-use development less than 40 miles from Downtown Dallas is being investigated for concerns that its owners may enact religiously based governance, despite the developer's denials.
Dubai-based development firm SEE Holding plans to build the artificial intelligence-enabled The Sustainable City USA project in unincorporated Kaufman County, The Dallas Morning News reported. The project will include an unknown number of townhomes, multifamily and senior living units at “attainable” prices with smart infrastructure and AI to assist with energy management.
However, the developer doesn’t yet own the land for the proposed project.
Citing concerns that the development is designed to incorporate Shariah, or Islamic law, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Monday that he had launched an investigation into the project. He is seeking to examine communications that city, county, school and state officials have had with SEE Holding and Kaufman Solar LLC, which owns land near the proposed site.
“While you’re on American soil, you will obey America’s laws,” Paxton said in a statement. “I have launched this investigation to determine the nature of this development in Kaufman County and will be thoroughly investigating this matter for any unlawful actions.”
In a statement sent to Bisnow, SEE Holding spokesperson Hadeel Ahmed said the firm would cooperate with the investigation, but denied Paxton’s claims.
“There are no mosques planned as part of the development,” Ahmed said in a statement. “Claims suggesting otherwise, or mischaracterizing the nature of the project, are inaccurate”
The Sustainable City USA project would be SEE Holding’s largest development and first in the U.S. The company has three similar locations in the United Arab Emirates and one in Oman.
While the developer's Sustainable City projects in the Middle East feature mosques, SEE Holding also told Kaufman County officials there were no plans for one in this project.
Paxton offered no evidence of wrongdoing related to the project, but his press release says “many Texans” are concerned it could be an illegal development.
Last year, developers of the proposed 402-acre Epic City community in a sparsely populated area of North Texas near Josephine faced similar accusations and investigations. That project was associated with the East Plano Islamic Center, one of the largest mosques in North Texas.
While most of those investigations were resolved, Paxton filed a lawsuit against developer Community Capital Partners and the Plano mosque in December, alleging the project’s development practices violated state securities law.
The project also led state officials to enact a new law last year that requires companies to inform potential investors that they are purchasing an interest in a business rather than physical property. Rep. Candy Noble said she was inspired to co-author the bill that Gov. Greg Abbott ultimately signed because of Community Capital Partners’ business model for its project near Josephine.
SEE Holding’s Kaufman County project is similar in size to the Landmark master-planned community being constructed in Denton by Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood. That 3,200-acre development will feature 6,000 single-family homes, 3,000 multifamily units and 900 acres of commercial space.
Hillwood officials projected that it could add 20,000 residents to Denton and be valued at $10B upon completion.
UPDATE, FEB. 12, 3 P.M. CT: This article has been updated with a statement SEE Holding spokesperson Hadeel Ahmed sent to Bisnow.
