Franklin Mountains State Park, already the largest urban park in the country at 24,247 acres, will be getting another 1,600 acres larger as action by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission this week.

The commission formally approved the purchase from the city of El Paso Thursday. The appropriation had been approved by the Texas Legislature.

The El Paso Public Service Board months ago approved the sale of the land, which is adjacent to the state mountain park along Castner Range and the northern boundary of the city and a piece in Northwest El Paso.

The city and PSB's price is $87.19 per acre, or $161,301, PSB spokeswoman Christina Montoya said.

She said the land "has an estimated commercial value of more than $20 million. The price was determined by adding a 3 percent per year adjustment to the $18 per acre paid by the Board when the land was purchased in the 1950s."

The sale must be approved by City Council, which asked the state to add the land to the park in the first place.

"The larger piece of new real estate, a 1,470-acre tract adjacent to the Castner Range, would expand the Franklin Mountains State Park boundary at the northeastern corner of the park," stated a news release form the department. "The smaller 200-acre tract on the western side of the Franklins would provide the state park some protection against pending development in the southwestern corner of the park."

In a prepared statement with the release, John Moses, director of El Paso's state park complex that includes Franklin Mountains State Park, said: "At the end of the day, the property acquisition will give us a buffer between previous state park boundaries and pending development areas. The buffer zone on the east side of the mountain will be where we'll put trailheads that will connect new communities in northeast El Paso with the park."

Franklin Mountains State Park is the United State's largest urban park, being entirely located within the city limits of El Paso. The state park offers rock climbing, mountain biking, rock climbing, primitive overnight camping, picnicking and guided tours.