By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

Construction of a new truck stop at the corner of State Hwy. 87 and Farm to Market Road 105 in West Orange is not scheduled to begin for at least two months. 

But the site has been cleared of trees and, now, is covered with dead vegetation and a sign of the intentions of a truck stop and a food business coming to the location.

While progress is welcomed, not everyone is happy to see the changes.

“When I walk into my back yard, I get a big breath of exhaust fumes now,” Roseanne McDade said. “The trees are no longer there to block the exhaust. I cannot open the windows in my house now.”

According to Mike, the contact person for those interested in retail space at the location, fencing between the business and the neighborhood behind it is not being considered at this time.

“There is a canal there, so there is no need for fencing,” Mike said.

He was also asked about possible landscaping as an option due to the fact people on the road can see directly into some of the homes now since the trees are now gone.

“Once construction starts, we will see,” Mike said.

McDade said she was able to hear people speaking in the parking lot at a convenience store across the street from her back yard. 

“There was no notification,” McDade said. “One day we heard the machinery and the trees disappeared. Two weeks later, the sign went up. It did not have a for sale sign.”

Another neighbor described it as progress. Her house is one which can clearly be seen from the highway now.

“I would like to see them build a privacy fence,” she said. “It has been a wooded lot since 2009 and now they can see right inside the house.”

According to an Orange County CAD search, a special warranty deed was done on February 28, 2018, by grantee AMA Orange Properties, LLC.

A Texas special warranty deed form is a type of deed used to transfer Texas real estate with a limited warranty of title. The warranty of title provided by a Texas special warranty deed form is limited in the sense that it only covers the period when the prior owner (the person signing the deed) owned the property according to https://www.deedclaim.com