A few years ago, during a show at the Kessler Theater in North Oak Cliff, its owner, Edwin Cabaniss, pulled me aside and said he had big news — off the record. "I'm looking to buy the Longhorn Ballroom," said the former stockbroker, referring, of course, to the iconic, tumbledown concert venue sitting for the last 67 years where the former Industrial Boulevard runs into Corinth Street. Said he had big plans to resurrect the beloved joint, built in 1950 as the Bob Wills Ranch House for the legendary Western swinger, and that he'd let me know when the deal was done.

Except, disappointingly, it was never consummated: Negotiations with longtime owner Raul Ramirez went in fits and starts and finally fizzled as Cabaniss turned his attention toward rehabbing the old Heights Theater in Houston and, sooner than later, expanding into Austin. Meanwhile Ramirez toyed with other bidders, among them, rumor had it, a well-known nightclub operator out of Houston. There was also said to be a big-time apartment developer looking to vanish the only stage in town that can boast having hosted Wills and his Texas Playboys, Nat King Cole, James Brown, Merle Haggard, La Mafia, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sam Cooke, the Ramones, Loretta Lynn, B.B. King, Motorhead and, among countless others, the Sex Pistols.

Scraping the site would have been unimaginable — emotionally, anyway. If you're of a certain age in this town, it's likely you've been to a concert there. Or a biker swap meet. Or an Art Conspiracy event. Or Mods vs. Rockers. Or a quinceañera. It's been all things to all people during its 67 years — honky-tonk, soul city, metal shop and, of late, a Tex-Mex mecca. I have many good memories of the place, one of which is a bit hazy — maybe because it took place aboard a Willie Nelson tour bus parked behind the Longhorn in November 1993.

Occasionally I'll take friends by to see what's become of the Longhorn, which was built to look like an Old West outpost and now resembles a rundown ghost town. The Longhorn never closed; it just slowly fell apart and faded into an afterthought, especially after a storm knocked down the landmark sign almost two decades ago. Its history be damned, the Longhorn's demise has always felt inevitable, especially as the Cedars took root on the other side of the tracks and development began to spread. And: Because this is Dallas, which continues to mute its rich musical heritage.

Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, Bob Wills' outpost before he moved to Dallas in 1950, is a thriving concert hall — and, since 2003, an entry on the National Register of Historic Places. That the Longhorn still stands is extraordinary: Almost as soon as it opened it broke Bob Wills, who let crooks and con men run the joint. Their mismanagement forced him to sell off his musical catalog — including "San Antonio Rose," his most famous composition.

When I ran into Ramirez a few months back, in the unmarked cold-beer-only bar tucked beneath the old motel rooms in the Longhorn's parking lot, he said there was one deal working, maybe two, we'll see. Didn't sound particularly promising: Last time Ramirez officially put the Longhorn and its 4.5 acres on the block in 2001, with Henry S. Miller as broker, he was asking $3.95 million. He found no takers but kept asking anyway, almost nonstop for the last 16 years.

1 / 5Dewey Groom stands in front of his famous Longhorn Ballroom in 1986((File photo)) 2 / 5From The Dallas Morning News, December 15, 1950, announcing the opening of the Bob Wills Ranch House 3 / 5This photo, from 1986, features then-owned Ira Zack, left, and Decadent Dub Team's Jeff Liles, who would go on to book, among other venues, Trees and the Kessler Theater.((File photo)) 4 / 5Sid Vicious, flanked by Buddy staffers Ben Ferguson and Bobette Riner, when the Sex Pistols played the Longhorn on January 10, 1978. Kirby Warnock, former editor at Buddy, said that once owner Dewey Groom heard what he's gotten himself into, he "tried to get out of the show, but he'd already signed the contract." (Courtesy Kirby Warnock)(digital file) 5 / 5Statues of an Native American couple still stand at the end of the lot at the Longhorn Ballroom complex, but the fabric on the teepee has deteriorated and fallen off. (Guy Reynolds/Staff photographer)

But, sure enough, as we reported earlier this week the Longhorn has a new owner: Jay LaFrance, who closed last week and has already tasked Fort Worth muralist Stylle Read with giving the whole spread a long-needed makeover in advance of a rechristening scheduled for early summer, give or take. Read was out there Wednesday evening putting a coat of primer on the iconic longhorn out front before he made it "more realistic-looking."

LaFrance, whose LinkedIn profile lists him as managing partner of World Wide Business Development Corp., is an admitted serial entrepreneur with no experience owning or operating a music venue. His background's in tech and, of late, assisted living facilities. But, he said when we spoke this week, fret not: He will turn over the day-to-day operations to those better suited to running concert halls and handling bands, among them his daughter Amber, president of the PR firm CultureHype.

LaFrance said he wanted the Longhorn because, well, he wanted it: "It's going to be a fun project," he said. "And I am glad it wasn't to an apartment developer. It's a part of history we don't want to see go away."

It is also a shrewd investment — a sprawling, long-underused expanse of property abutting the Santa Fe Trail and the Trinity River and not far from the would-be high-speed rail station. LaFrance said that if all goes according to plan, the Longhorn will, in time, become the centerpiece to a significantly larger development that could include a boutique hotel, a conference center and an outdoor-festival venue. The existing Mexican restaurant will eventually retooled; and Amber said they're considering turning the old motel rooms into affordable artists' lofts — which would be welcome, given the conversion of the old Continental Gin Building in Deep Ellum into a charter school.

LaFrance, short on details, said the liquor stores that bracket the Longhorn will probably change hands by year's end — maybe disappear altogether. He spoke of "a number of other investors" buying property along this stretch of Riverfront Boulevard but said he could offer no further details for now. LaFrance has spoken to City Hall about incentives needed to help with the extreme makeover; city officials say nothing's finalized.

Father and daughter cannot say for sure when the Longhorn will reopen as a full-time music venue — maybe May, more than likely June or later. There's much work to be done to the exterior, which Stylle Read is going to restore to the Wild West look it had back when Wills, then Jack Ruby — yes, that Jack Ruby — and, later, Dewey Groom ran the joint. The original sign, now being stored on the property, will be returned to its rightful spot in a few weeks.

I called the Kessler's Cabaniss Wednesday, to see if he was disappointed about not landing the Longhorn after years of wrestling with it. Nope, he said. At least it won't be apartments. And that's all that matters.