The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will stop pursuing eminent domain to take over the former park property south of Dallas. A private developer plans to turn it into a luxury subdivision.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began the legal process of eminent domain to seize the former state park and save it from being turned into an upscale subdivision. The agency had offered a Dallas-based developer $103 million for it.

Todd Interests, which plans to turn the former park into a high-end subdivision, has a week left to respond to the state’s final offer for the property.

With only three days left on the state’s lease, the agency unanimously voted to condemn almost 5,000 acres in Freestone County in an effort to keep the park open to the public after developers purchased the property to build a gated community.

The state is now considering seizing the land to save the park after its purchase offer was rejected by a Dallas developer.

The Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.

State officials plan to offer free day access to the property as they consider how to acquire the land before its sale.

For decades the park has sat on leased land that the owner recently decided to sell. As the staff closed the gates Monday night for the last time, visitors and staff held out hope that the state could find a way to save the park.

Texas Parks and Wildlife said Tuesday that Fairfield Lake State Park will permanently close to public access on Feb. 28, as the park’s land lease is terminated.

Fairfield Lake, the largest private lake in Texas, is officially on the market.