Mike Patterson: A True PK Pioneer

Story by Steve Nussbaum | Photos by Matthew Renfro
Mike Patterson was 10 when he first came to Possum Kingdom Lake in 1965 on a fishing trip with his father, Harold Patterson, who was former mayor of Arlington, Texas.

After having visited the lake occasionally while he was growing up, Patterson plunked down $50,000 in 1998 to buy a lake house. He used an insurance check, some savings and credit cards to buy a home on Colonel’s Row, located on the south side of the peninsula. Patterson said he wanted a place for family escapes, with the intent to make long-term memories with his four boys.

At the time, his young sons, Josh, Tyler, Travis and Chase were all involved in organized sports, and breaking the news to them that they would instead be spending the summer at the lake didn’t go over great at first, but Patterson added that they soon changed their minds.

Patterson, and his family have been creating those great family memories at Possum Kingdom for more than 25 years. What started as a family retreat has turned into a collection of businesses and some of the most significant changes that have happened in Possum Kingdom Lake’s history.

Texas House Bill 3031: The Divestiture

Patterson was a real estate attorney by trade, so he always had an interest in the real estate business at Possum Kingdom Lake. For decades much of the land around Possum Kingdom Lake was owned by the state and managed by the Brazos River Authority. In the early 2000s, a commissioned study by The Staubach Group was released, and it suggested the state sell those leases back to the property owners – but the scope on how to do that was complicated and a huge undertaking.

Patterson was fascinated as he studied the Staubach report, and he came to the conclusion that the leases would need to be sold in one bulk sale from the state, then another entity would be needed to manage the sale and transfer of those leases to their owners. With the help of many people, notably Monte and Carolyn Land of the Possum Kingdom Lake Association (PKLA) and a group of investors, Patterson made the divestiture a reality.

Pictured above:  The divestiture included more than 3,000 pages of convenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) which were 4 feet high!

It was a complicated transaction that took years of political wrangling, but after Texas House Bill 3031 was signed into law in 2009, the right for people to own the land at Possum Kingdom became a reality the next year. The bid for the property from the group led by Patterson came in at $50 million, while the next closest bid was $13 million. Patterson said he immediately wondered if he had missed something, but the sale became a reality with the hard work of many local leaders and lenders.

Vee Hanssen, owner of Possum Kingdom Real Estate, said it was “a complete game changer for the real estate market at Possum Kingdom Lake and would never have happened without Mike Patterson.” The transaction allowed for ownership of the land and made the ability to finance a property much more viable. It also increased ownership and equity almost immediately for all the property owners. A few details of the divestiture include:

· 1,538 residential leasehold properties.

· 98 miles of roads.

· Three counties.

· 42 investors.

· 12 lenders.

· 17 surveyors.

· More than 3,000 pages of covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs)(4 ft high!).

· 29 months from start to finish.

Patterson PK Marina

In 2017, The Pattersons (Jennifer and Mike) bought the marina at The Harbor, and they changed the name to Patterson PK Marina. The marina had 160 slips, and they increased the capacity to 222, in addition to 50 to 60 personal watercraft slips. They also added a ship store and full-service marina operations. The marina, which sits at the heart of the Harbor development and is adjacent to the restaurant, Hemmingway’s, is led by Calvin Daigle and his staff.

The sun sets on Patterson PK Marina

Hemmingway’s

In 2019, The Pattersons bought The Point restaurant, which now is called Hemmingway’s. The structure sits on a natural point of what many locals remember as Scenic Point. It’s an ideal location next to Patterson PK Marina, with easy boat access, as well as great indoor and outdoor seating. Patterson said the restaurant lost $100,000 the first year he had it, and the following year it was on track to lose $300,000. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the restaurant had to close, which was unfortunate, but that allowed Patterson to regroup and rethink his strategy.

In 2021, Patterson decided anything above break-even was acceptable, so he decided to be very selective and offer up the restaurant at $1 a year. Todd and Jilene Foust stepped in to take on the challenge, and the couple immediately remodeled the entire restaurant and changed the name to Hemmingway’s.

Patterson described Jilene Foust as “a force of nature” because she has managed to create several revenue streams out of one building, including Hemmingway’s, Pie House, The Porch and PK Mercantile, which are all popular stops at the lake.

Jilene Foust described Patterson as “a wonderful person and wonderful to work with,” and added: “He has a heart for the PK community, and it shines through.”

Todd Foust also had fond words for Patterson, calling him “one of the most generous and fair-minded people I have ever done business with.”

The popular Hemmingway’s Restaurant, Pie House, The Porch x Jilene and PK Mercantile are all housed on property owned by Patterson and leased back to Jilene and Todd Foust.  A win/win for all including the PK community.

Land Patterson Center

In 2022, Carolyn Land and a group from the county approached Patterson about donating land along FM 2353 for a clinic and a permanent home for emergency services. The collaboration led to the Land Patterson Center, a large, modern clinic that houses Palo Pinto Emergency Service District No. 1 and Possum Kingdom Family Health. The modern building is centrally located on the east side of Possum Kingdom Lake, at the entrance to the peninsula. The facility also has a helicopter landing pad for emergency flights to area hospitals.

One of the stipulations the Pattersons made in donating the land was to retain naming rights. After some initial protesting, Land and her husband, Monte, ultimately agreed to let Patterson put their name on the building to honor their hard work on Texas House Bill 3031 and their service to the Possum Kingdom community.

The Land-Patterson Center houses the Possum Kingdom Family Clinic and the East side EMT services.  The land was donated by Patterson and named for the hard work of Carol and Monte Land in the devestiture from the BRA.

Harbor Chapel

The Pattersons said they have enjoyed attending church at Harbor Chapel. Patterson and his wife, Jennifer, were married there in 2011 by Jim Denison, but in 2020, e3 Partners Ministry, which ran the chapel, needed to sell the church. That didn’t set well with the Pattersons, so they bought the structure and gifted the building to the nonprofit organization that runs Harbor Chapel for $1. They also provided $50,000 for the first two years in operating capital for the church.

Denison Ministries currently provides preachers for the growing church, and the Pattersons provide housing space at a nearby lake house in the Harbor for the traveling preachers.

“When I die, I just want to have a small service at Harbor Chapel,” Mike said.

The Harbor Chapel was purchased by Patterson and later gifted to the church.

Frontier Shores

The Pattersons latest development is Frontier Shores, located on the south side of the peninsula. It includes five large lots and undeveloped land that has sloping access down to the water and a sandy beach. The lots all measure more than an ½ acre and some are surrounded by huge oak trees, with all the streets and infrastructure already completed, and each lot can have its own dock with lake access. The Pattersons are starting their last “last lake house” there now.

The lots were part of the Texas House Bill 3031 land purchase, and originally gifted by Patterson to the YMCA as a camp, its Frontier Unit Camp. As long as the organization used it for a youth camp, the land would remain in its control. However, the YMCA stopped using the land as a campground many years ago, so it reverted back to Patterson, based on the original terms of the sale. Patterson was able to buy 10 acres at the back of the property for $1 million from the YMCA, which allowed for development of Frontier Shores but still generated some revenue for the organization from the neglected property.

Patterson said he never imagined back in 1998 that he would be so involved in so many transformative ventures at PK. Since the divestiture, he’s been able to donate nine properties back to four nonprofits.

Patterson, who’s been very successful in business deals at Possum Kingdom Lake, would be the first to tell anyone that buying that first lake house in 1998 was one of the best things he ever did. He said he loves the Possum Kingdom community, and he’s always had a philosophy of making every transaction a win-win for all involved.

Jennifer and Mike Patterson enjoy life and love the PK community.