Estate sale

Former Ranger Mark Teixeira puts $4 million Westlake mansion on auction block

UPDATE: Mark Teixeira's Westlake home sold at auction on May 12. There were 11 bidders, auction officials say, but the buyer's name and sale price have not been disclosed.

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Having struck out over a 10-year span in trying to sell his Westlake mansion through traditional channels, retired professional baseball player Mark Teixeira — who launched his career with the Texas Rangers — has put the estate on the auction block.

The auction will be held at 11 am May 12 at the 8,554-square-foot, two-story home, situated on a nearly 1.1-acre waterfront lot within the gated Vaquero golf community. The mansion, at 2220 King Fisher Dr., will be sold to the highest bidder.

Since 2008, three years after it was built, Teixeira and his wife, Leigh Williams Teixeira, have alternated between renting out the property and putting it up for sale. Back in 2008, the home went on the market for $5.75 million. In 2012, the home was listed at $3,995,000. Today, the asking price appears online as nearly $4.2 million; Teixeira reportedly thinks the estate will fetch $4 million at the auction.

Auction bidders won’t be bound by an asking price. Instead, the mansion will be sold regardless of the amount of the winning bid in what’s known as a “no reserve” auction.

Ahead of the auction, private showings will be held from April 22 through May 6. A final preview is set for May 11.

Not just anyone can bid on the home, though. Only registered bidders will be allowed. Each registered bidder must bring a $25,000 deposit, in the form of a cashier’s check, to the auction.

What will potential bidders see on those pre-auction tours? Here are some of the highlights of the property:

Four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, and four half-bathrooms in the main house
One-bedroom, one-bathroom casita
Swimming pool
Bathhouse
Three-car attached garage
One-car detached garage
“Spa patio” off master bedroom
“His and hers” closets and bath areas in master bedroom
Two-level, wood-trimmed office and library
Wine cellar
Entertainment wing with media room and open-air bar
Eligibility for children to attend the prestigious Westlake Academy charter school

Alicia Chmielewski of Frisco, Southwest market director at Elite Auctions LLC, is handling the auction in conjunction with Nanette Ecklund-Luker of Dallas real estate firm Allie Beth Allman & Associates. Ennis auctioneer Angelia Meier will run the sale.

Teixeira, who turns 38 on April 11, retired from Major League Baseball in 2016. He started his career with the Rangers, followed by stints with the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, and New York Yankees. During his 14 seasons as a first baseman, Teixeira racked up more than $213 million in earnings, according to BaseballReference.com.

In 2017, cable TV sports network ESPN hired Teixeira as a baseball analyst. He and his wife now live in Greenwich, Connecticut, not far from ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. The Westlake mansion hasn’t been the couple’s main residence since 2010, the year after Teixeira became a Yankee.

The home's elegance extends to the gourmet kitchen.

Photo courtesy of Estately.com

The home's elegance extends to the gourmet kitchen.

home-for-sale sports celebrities

GP News

Grand Prairie expands to the south with new master-planned community

Rendering courtesy of Provident

Goodland Grand Prairie

The City of Grand Prairie is growing fast and expanding to make way for a new master-planned development south of US Highway 287 and along Tollway 360, in Ellis and Johnson counties.

The community development, called Goodland, is the result of Grand Prairie’s recent 1,500-acre annexation extending its southern border toward Mansfield. Overall, with the added land, Goodland will be a 5,000-acre site featuring 15,000 residences including townhomes, custom homes, and gated communities for 50,000 residents.

According to a release, it will be a “city within a city” and a 45-minute drive from Dallas-Fort Worth. Beyond housing, there will be shops, restaurants, schools, public and private event venues, regional sports fields and complexes, dance halls, churches, trail systems, city parks, ponds, and preserved green spaces.

“This is a significant step in our city’s development,” says Grand Prairie Mayor Ron Jensen in a statement. “Unlike many of our neighboring cities, we have the unique advantage of new development opportunities to our south that will drive the growth and prosperity of our city. We recognized the opportunity and took decisive action.”

Leading the development is Provident, a Dallas-based real estate firm that has created other master-planned communities across Dallas-Fort Worth, such as Preston Hollow Village and Hillstead in Collin County. Provident has plans to work nature into the space design with more than 1,600 acres of creek corridors and floodplain land.

Plans are ongoing for a centralized mixed-use walkable Town Center, complete with civic buildings and other commercial development. Further south on the property near Highway 67, light industrial uses and other private employment campuses are already underway, projects that will contribute vital tax dollars for city growth and future expansions.

“This level of placemaking is quite rare, and certainly not easy to execute, especially in a brand-new community," says Provident Managing Director Rylan Yowell in a statement. "We are committed to a long-term vision with a desire to be good stewards of the land."

A new four-lane road called Goodland Parkway will link Goodland to Grand Prairie at Tollway 360 and US Highway 287. It's set to open by December 2025.

openings