Oct. 20--Chipmaker Intel Corp. is preparing to put up for sale 527 acres in far north Fort Worth where it once planned a $2 billion microchip plant, now that the land is no longer the focus of a federal lawsuit.

Intel bought the land from Hillwood, developer of Alliance, in 1997. It invested about $65 million in its project at Interstate 35W and Eagle Parkway before halting it in 2000.

Intel hopes to sell the land and improvements, including a 50,000-square-foot office building, after a federal judge recently ruled that Hillwood waited too long to exercise a first right of refusal on the property. That provision, part of the original sales contract, was intended to give Hillwood the chance to repurchase the property before it was sold to another buyer.

According to court documents, Hillwood did not act in March 2007 when Intel, as required, offered Hillwood a sales contract. Intel had received an offer from Council Properties, which wanted the land for a ski resort.

The next month, Intel entered into a contract with Council Properties. Not until January 2008, long after a 180-day exercise period expired, did Hillwood tell Intel that it did not want to waive its repurchase rights.

Hillwood sued Intel in U.S. District Court in Sherman, saying that since the sale to Council Properties did not close within 180 days, it still had the right to repurchase the property. But U.S. Magistrate Don Bush wrote in August that Intel needed only to enter a sales contract and was not required to close the deal within 180 days. The report was adopted Sept. 20 by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell.

Hillwood officials declined to comment on the ruling or the case. Byron Wilder, Intel's attorney, also declined to comment.

Council Properties has since backed out of its deal to buy the property, and by May it had settled claims it filed against Hillwood and Intel in the matter. Those settlements were not disclosed in court documents.

Charlie Aaron, president of Bearfire Group, which was going to build the ski resort, could not be reached for comment.

Bob Scully with CB Richard Ellis commercial real estate firm in Fort Worth will lead the brokerage team offering the property. An asking price has not been decided, but Scully said he has fielded inquiries from potential buyers who see far north Fort Worth as a top U.S. industrial market.

But it's also in an area that in the past couple of months has seen at least two lenders foreclose on developers that planned huge, multimillion-dollar residential, office and retail developments.

"It's a unique site in a tremendous location," Scully said of the Intel land. "For the right user at the right price, it's a great deal."

The lawsuit involving Hillwood and Intel will continue, however. Intel is seeking damages, saying Hillwood made "slanderous statements" that caused its deal with Council Properties to fall apart, according to court documents.

SANDRA BAKER, 817-390-7727

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