Fort Worth reaches tentative settlement for tearing down wrong house

March 26--FORT WORTH -- The city has reached a tentative $102,500 settlement for demolishing the wrong house last year in the Lake Worth-area.

In the agreement, the city has agreed to pay $62,500 upon approval by the Fort Worth City Council and the contractor agreed $15,000, while the contractor's insurer agreed to pay $25,000 for tearing down the home at 9716 Watercress Drive on July 12, said Bill Begley, a city spokesman.

The same city-hired contractor on July 11 also incorrectly tore down one of two homes on the same lot at 1308 Lagonda Ave., on the city's north side. The contractor had a work order to raze just one of the homes that had been damaged by fire.

The same city code compliance supervisor was over both cases.

With the Watercress house, a city crew marked the wrong home for demolition. The crew should have marked the house next door.

The potential settlement will go before the council in about two weeks.

After the wrong homes were demolished, the city halted demolitions of substandard structures and reviewed its procedures. It also placed the administrator of the program on administrative leave.

Last year the Tarrant Appraisal District said the 1,300-square-foot, three-bedroom, one-bath home on Watercress, had a market value of $122,200 market value -- $82,200 in improvements and a $40,000 lot value.

David Underwood, the property owner, said the home had been in his family for years. He and his wife were planning to move into the home. The couple discovered the home had been razed after returning from a trip to Boston and dropping by the house to mow the lawn.

What they found: a slab and a mailbox with the address number -- but no home.

This report includes information from Star-Telegram archives.

Caty Hirst, 817-390-7984 Twitter: @catyhirst

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