Newland Communities plans to buy properties from rival Terrabrook. Home builders shouldn't see major changes.
By STEVE HUETTEL
Published October 4, 2003
Newland Communities, developer of the fastest-growing residential project in the Tampa Bay area, has an agreement to buy more than 20 properties from rival developer Terrabrook.
Newland of San Diego is the developer of FishHawk ranch near Brandon in Hillsborough County.
Included in the purchase of most residential properties held by Terrabrook of Dallas are two major projects in south Hillsborough: MiraBay, a waterfront community in Apollo Beach, and Rivercrest, in Riverview.
Newland also would get commercial parcels Terrabrook still owns in Westchase, the west Hillsborough community that was the bay area's fastest-selling residential project of the mid and late 1990s, said John Heagney, a spokesman for Westchase.
Both companies are master plan developers that buy raw land, obtain permits and other government approvals, build utilities and amenities, then sell lots to home builders.
With the Terrabrook properties added to its portfolio of more than 40 communities in nine states, Newland would become the largest developer of master-planned communities in the nation, spokesman Dan Peoples said. Both companies are private, and neither has disclosed a sales price or other terms. Newland hopes to close on the acquisition this month, Peoples said.
Connerton, a high-profile project in Pasco County, isn't part of the deal, Peoples said. Plans for Connerton call for as many as 8,677 single-family homes and town homes, ranging from the low $100,000s to $400,000 from 2015 through 2025. The owners of Terrabrook also will retain a portfolio of resort and golf course properties that will operate under a new name.
If the deal goes through, the ownership change should be transparent, Peoples said. Newland would assume all contracts with builders and retain Terrabrook employees at the company's ongoing projects, he said.
"Most of these communities have master plans in place," Peoples said. "You shouldn't see any drastic changes. We expect to execute the development plans."
Both developers have reputations for quality projects, said Joseph Narkiewicz, executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Builders Association.
"They're taking two of the first-class builders and creating one huge one," he said.
Newland's FishHawk Ranch should sell 500 houses this year, making it the best-selling residential development in the Tampa Bay area, according to Marvin Rose, publisher of Rose Residential Reports. Builders have sold about 1,000 homes, and plans call for a total of about 5,000.
The average home price for the first six months of 2003 was $219,000, Newland reported.
Newland's other Hillsborough project is Covington Park, a 244-acre community near Apollo Beach that is projected to have about 800 single-family homes. The company also plans to develop Bexley Ranch in central Pasco County, with about 7,000 homes to be built from 2020 to 2025.
The two Terrabrook properties would complement those projects, said Don Whyte, president of Newland's southeast division.
The gem is MiraBay, a 750-acre project with 3.5 miles of canals and deep water access to Tampa Bay. When completed in about eight years, MiraBay will have 1,350 single-family and about 700 multifamily homes. Prices range from the $200,000s to more than $2-million.
Rivercrest carries more modest price tags, from the low $100,000s to $160,000. Plans call for building 1,387 homes on the 411-acre site in Riverview in the next five years, including single-family houses, attached villas and town houses. The project is a joint venture with Arvida, which is the sole home builder.
- Times researcher Catherine Wos contributed to this report. Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or 813 226-3384.
