ONTARIO, CA--(Marketwire - April 29, 2010) - Forestar Land Partners, a venture between the owners of Foremost Communities and a controlled affiliate of Starwood Capital Group Global, LP, announced today it has acquired 422 lots in the New Model Colony (NMC) and plans to work with existing land owners to develop the infrastructure necessary for the construction of new homes to begin.
The property is within the Countryside Specific Plan and will be one of the first areas to be developed. That made it an attractive target for Foremost and Starwood Capital, a leading private investment firm specializing in real estate, which formed a partnership in 2007 to pursue high-potential residential land opportunities in Southern California.
"We became interested in this property because it's surrounded by existing development, including a community park and golf course," said Foremost President Steve Cameron. "Because it is right on the northern edge of the NMC and adjacent to Riverside Avenue, this parcel will be among the first to benefit from off-site infrastructure and street improvements."
As the newest member of the group called NMC Builders, Forestar will pool its financial resources with the other major landowners to develop the project's infrastructure. Once that stage of development is complete, which Cameron expects to take several years, Forestar plans to sell its lots to homebuilders who by then should be ready to start new construction.
"It's a positive sign for the New Model Colony that a large, well-capitalized investor is willing to buy into this project," Cameron said. "We'll be working shoulder to shoulder with other members of the NMC Builders group to get this important development going again."
The New Model Colony is a key part of Ontario's long-term growth and includes 8,000 acres of former dairyland annexed by the City of Ontario and approved as a master planned community that will be built out over the next 20-plus years. About 31,000 homes and 120,000 new residents are expected to move to the area in the coming decades.
The New Model Colony is known as the "hole in the donut" because it is an undeveloped infill location completely surrounded by development and transportation corridors. The development has an excellent regional location surrounded by four freeways and it is within commuting distance to major employment centers in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The Forestar property is located near the intersection of Riverside Drive and Archibald Avenue, and is slated for a total of 422 lots (187 lots of 5,500 sq. ft., 97 lots of 3,500 sq. ft., and 138 small-lot detached cluster) for single-family homes.
The parcel was purchased from Levine Investments of Phoenix, Ariz., who was represented in the sale by Tom Dallape of The Hoffman Company, a leading land brokerage firm in Southern California.
Forestar owns or manages more than 1,500 residential lots in Southern California and is actively pursuing additional land acquisition opportunities.
About Foremost Communities, Inc.
Foremost Communities, Inc. is a land investment company based in Irvine, California that purchases residential property at any stage of entitlement throughout Southern California. In addition, the firm partners with other land developers and will provide both equity and debt to recapitalize existing projects. The performance of Foremost is backed by the leading real estate investment firm of Starwood Capital Group Global, LLC and its residential arm Starwood Land Ventures. www.foremostcommunities.com
About Starwood Capital Group Global, LP
Starwood Capital Group Global, LP is a privately-held global real estate investment firm based in Greenwich, CT (with its predecessor Starwood affiliates "Starwood"). Founded in 1991, Starwood specializes in the creation and acquisition of real estate-related investments on behalf of commingled investment vehicles that are sponsored and created by Starwood or its affiliated entities. Such real estate-related investments include residential and commercial land development, multifamily, hotel, office, retail, mixed-use, industrial, health clubs, golf and mezzanine debt. Starwood's clients include public and private retirement programs, university endowments, foundations, international and high net worth investors. During the past sixteen years Starwood and its affiliates have invested more than $7 billion of equity capital in more than $24 billion in assets.
Starwood Capital Group has led the formation and/or growth of several market leading companies including Groupe Taittinger and Société du Louvre, Europe's second largest hotel network; iStar Financial (
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