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# Leviathan
- URL: https://www.huntsvillan.com/leviathan/
- Published: 2026-08-26T16:14:12.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-26T16:14:12.000Z
- Description: Sam Houston State University is buying commercial property all over town, and there's no telling what they plan to do with much of it. The second installment of a three-part series.
- Author: Steph Mamber

In 2013, Sam Houston State University was hungry for land – Tarek Maalouf's land. He had recently purchased three prime commercial acres along Sam Houston Ave., the site of a [shuttered](https://www.denix.osd.mil/armybrac/texas-reserve-component/huntsville-afrc/?ref=huntsvillan.com) Army Reserve center, from the City of Huntsville in a competitive bidding process. 

SHSU [came on so strong](https://www.itemonline.com/news/local%5Fnews/shsu-denies-lease-aims-to-buy-property/article%5F0eae40e5-85d1-5bf3-acef-b4f2e87aa3c1.html?ref=huntsvillan.com) with the threat of [eminent domain](https://www.itemonline.com/news/local%5Fnews/purchase-or-condemnation-shsu-wants-650-000-maalouf-property/article%5Fab162bd7-4b23-5a65-b42b-10a4f285bd94.html?ref=huntsvillan.com), a legal process by which public entities can seize private land, that (rumor has it) it had to be told to back off from Austin. In the public relations battle between the university and Maalouf – won by Maalouf in a rout – SHSU's president, Dana Gibson, issued a [public letter](https://todayatsam.shsu.edu/Dr%5FGibson%5FView.pdf?ref=huntsvillan.com) giving her side of the story.

"We have remained steadfast and open in our intentions... regarding our desire to purchase the property," Gibson said. "Whatever \[Maalouf\] places there, could it be more useful to the community than the university's plan to support our ROTC program and the more than 1,800 veterans and veteran dependents enrolled at SHSU as well as those living in the community?"

Wait, what? You would use three acres of prime commercial land for that? At the time, ROTC had almost an entire building to themselves. What were they going to do in the old armory – build a tank?

Maalouf had other ideas. He sold the land to a developer, who built [The Armory](https://livethearmory.com/?ref=huntsvillan.com), a luxury apartment complex that houses 500 students. Last year, it paid almost $500,000 in local property taxes.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0764-1.JPG)

The Armory, sitting on a property SHSU let slip away. Photo credit: Cade Crippin.

But some habits die hard. Since that time SHSU has been gobbling up prime commercial property all over town – some of it far from campus, little of it mentioned in key planning documents. And their public relations? That hasn't changed either.

## Three waves of property purchases

If there is anything universities love to do, it is strategize. Within the Texas State University System, no university [strategizes more](https://www.tsus.edu/offices/finance/campus-master-plans.html?ref=huntsvillan.com) than Sam Houston State. It has produced three Campus Master Plans in the last twenty years, plus an additional plan for an "[Innovation Plaza](https://shsuheritage.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/innovation-plaza-a-creative-presence-for-shsu/?ref=huntsvillan.com)" that ended up coming to naught. This is more than every other university in the system.

These master plans try to prepare for growth in the university's physical infrastructure – buildings, sidewalks, etc. They anticipated the acquisition of commercial land in town to a limited extent: the "first wave" of property purchases discussed below. They never anticipated possessing Maalouf's property.

Nonetheless, SHSU has acquired a sprawling commercial real estate portfolio, which includes restaurants, office buildings, churches, and apartments. Since 2013, the acquisitions have come in three major waves, each more puzzling than its predecessor.

The first wave occurred around 2017, during the tenure of Dana Gibson (later known as Dana Hoyt). It consisted mostly of properties adjacent to campus near the intersection of Sam Houston Ave. and Bearkat Blvd., including two former bookstores, a coffee shop, and a restaurant. Two now hold an Alumni Center and a Post Office, others are vacant or have [lower-priority uses](https://www.shsu.edu/academics/colleges/health-sciences/tripods-thrift?ref=huntsvillan.com) such as a thrift store.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0821-2-1.JPG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0825-copy-1-1-1-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0830-copy-1-1-1.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0836-copy-1.jpg)

These properties, each a stone's throw from the intersection of Sam Houston Ave. and Bearkat Blvd., were all in the private sector a decade ago. Photo credits: Cade Crippin.

Master plans in 2008 and 2013 anticipate owning much of this property. In the 2023 master plan, it is to be the site of a new dormitory.

The second wave of purchases occurred around 2022, during the tenure of current SHSU president Alisa White. They extend further down both sides of Sam Houston Ave., and none have been turned to university uses. They include the sites of three restaurants – Tipsy Tio's, Fancy Donuts, and Toasted – along with Family Faith Church further south. 

It is unclear why the university would need any of these properties. The Tipsy Tio's parcel, a thin sliver of land, cannot accommodate any building of size. The larger Family Faith parcel can, but few university structures require prime street frontage. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0755-2-1.JPG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0789-2-1.JPG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0744v2-1.JPG)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/CRP_0726.JPG)

Top row: Tipsy Tio's, Fancy Donuts, and Toasted all rent from the university. Bottom row: the site of Family Faith Church, on the left, is worth a whole lot more than the property on the right, university land formerly used for the agriculture program. Photo credits: Cade Crippin.

If the university has plans for these properties, they aren't disclosing them. None are earmarked for future development in the university's 2023 Campus Master Plan. And, as with our [first article](https://www.huntsvillan.com/goliath/), outreaches to the university were met with a polite response declining to answer – or no response at all.

The third wave of purchases also began in 2022 and continues to the present. It includes properties flung all over town and even outside the county: apartments, office buildings, restaurants. It is such a big deal that it gets its own article, coming on Monday.

## Brace for impact

Why does it matter if the university owns and rents out commercial property? In a word: taxes. 

State institutions like Sam Houston State University and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are exempt from property taxes. No one is suggesting a private company should buy the Wynne Unit or the Lowman Student Center on campus, but Tipsy Tio's is another matter entirely. When SHSU holds that land, local government – the city, county, schools, and hospital district – is deprived of much-needed revenue.

The amount of taxes avoided by the university depends on the property. It runs from $4,000 - $9,000 for smaller buildings along Sam Houston Ave. It rises above $150,000 for larger properties such as Family Faith Church. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/Taxes-1-1-1.jpg)

Property taxes avoided by SHSU for selected properties. Note: Family Faith Church was also exempt from property taxes when it owned its Sam Houston Ave. campus.

This table omits properties that have been converted to a university-specific use, such as the Alumni Center or 1 Financial Plaza near the movie theater, which serves a variety of purposes for SHSU. They would add roughly $10,000,000 in value and $200,000 in taxes to the total.

Still, this isn't even the half of it, because the properties purchased in that third wave are so valuable. Get a load of this:

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/45/95/45959c34-5dee-4d85-8f61-0c88439f0a1c/content/images/2026/08/Taxes2-2-1-1.jpg)

These are "third wave" property acquisitions by SHSU, between 2022 and 2026.

You read that last line correctly. In the last decade, SHSU has acquired over $56 million in commercial property, avoiding over $1 million in property taxes annually. This, as they say, is real money. 

It is common for public universities to become major players in commercial real estate like this? It is not – and the most surprising purchases come in that third wave. Find out about them and more on Monday.

---

This the second article of a three-part series on SHSU property and facility expansions. The first part, about the conflict between building plans and enrollment trends, is [here](https://www.huntsvillan.com/goliath/). Part three, on the university becoming a major player in commercial real estate, appears Monday.

Remember to smash that subscribe button at top right (desktop, tablet) or in the drop-down menu (phone) and receive occasional updates when we publish new stuff, or follow our [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Huntsvillan/61574229382407/) page or [Twitter](https://x.com/TheHuntsvillan?ref=huntsvillan.com) feed. 

Primary reporting on this article was done by **The Huntsvillan*'s Public Accountability Officer, Alison Wilkins. Most photos were taken by peripatetic photographer Cade Crippin. Learn more about Cade and see many examples of his work [here](https://www.photographybycade.com/?ref=huntsvillan.com).