In 1999, the Bland family of Taylor, Texas, sold 87 acres of open land for just $10. The deed made the purpose clear: the land was “to be held in trust for future use as a parkland by Williamson County,” according to the original deed reported by Inside Climate News.

Over the next decade, the tract passed from a parks foundation to the city and then to the Taylor Economic Development Corporation. Every new deed dropped the parkland language. In April 2025, the Economic Development Corporation sold the land to the developer of the Blueprint Projects data center for $10 million.

The site borders a neighborhood that longtime resident Pamela Griffin says was once the only place families of color could buy land in Taylor. Griffin grew up chasing baseballs onto that field, and she says the Bland family promised her father and neighbors the green space would be saved for future generations. Because a 16-acre buffer separated the site from nearby homes, no residents received an official notice about the project.

The property also includes a creek that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) marks as a flood risk. In 2015, flash floods damaged 280 homes in Taylor, many of them in this neighborhood.

In September, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into whether the parkland clause still applies. Residents have asked his office to seek a court order pausing construction until that question is answered. A lawsuit filed by neighbors is also on appeal.

Construction is expected to start later this year. Once the ground is broken, a park promised to this community could be lost for good.

Attorney General Paxton should ask a court to pause all work on the Blueprint Projects site until the investigation is complete. If the parkland clause holds, the land should become the park it was always meant to be.

Sign the petition to stop construction before a decades-old promise to Taylor families is broken.