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Reality yet to match blueprint

Homeowners are starting to move into Southern Hills Plantation, even as it struggles to emerge in a sluggish market.

By DAN DEWITT
Published October 1, 2006

BROOKSVILLE - Five years after LandMar Group LLC first announced plans to build Southern Hills Plantation, the development is taking its final steps toward opening.

In recent weeks, the first residents have moved into homes. On Saturday, LandMar will stage a grand opening for its golf course clubhouse.

This has all happened later than expected.

Two years ago, Walt Davis, who was then Southern Hills' sales manager, said he anticipated the first residents to move in by the end of 2005.

And because of slower-than-expected home sales - 14 houses have been completed and 28 are under construction - the city of Brooksville has put off plans to hire additional firefighters to serve the development, said Brooksville City Manager Dick Anderson.

"We anticipated there would be more houses completed and ready for occupancy," he said.

The same is true in Cascades, the 925-home subdivision being built by Levitt and Sons. It shares Southern Hills, main entrance on U.S. 41 south of downtown and was built on the 1,600-acre tract that LandMar bought five years ago.

Twenty-eight houses are under construction in Cascades, including about 15 models that will be completed when water and sewer lines have passed state inspection, probably in about a month.

"I'd love to be at 100 houses right now," said Dave Schmidt, Levitt's regional vice president of land development. "Once we get the models up, we expect traffic to improve quite a bit."

Though LandMar declined to comment on the reasons for the sluggish pace of building at Southern Hills, others have pointed to one obvious culprit: the sluggish real estate market.

Also, many of the 538 lots purchased in two one-day sales offerings in 2004 and 2005 were bought by investors, not future residents.

A total of 145 lots, a mix of resale offerings and new lots, are for sale in the subdivision, according to the Hernando County Association of Realtors.

Some investors are pleased with their purchase and with the way the development is shaping up. But one investor said LandMar's policies could make it difficult for him to sell his lots and will limit his profits when he does.

Bill Booth, owner of Moore Freightlines Inc., a trucking company in Dade City, said he bought two lots for $75,000 when the first phase went on sale in June 2004 and placed them on the market six weeks ago for slightly more than $100,000 apiece.

LandMar did little to discourage investors, such as limiting the number of lots each buyer could purchase, he said, which is one reason for the large number of lots now being resold.

This approach makes sense for LandMar, Booth said, because its sales contracts ensure the company will benefit: All sales in the subdivision - for new or previously owned lots - must go through its sales office, which charges an 8 percent commission.

Booth said this also means his lot is being offered next to lots owned by the company.

"They're kind of in competition with the people who are selling," he said. "So whose lots are they going to push hardest?"

"You can't be mad at them," Booth said. "They just have a little better scheme and a little better plan. It's been a learning experience."

He said a $12,000 initiation membership fee to the course was included with the lot. Though that cost has since doubled, he said, the course has been as good as he expected.

"It's a beautiful piece of property. It's well-maintained because that's what really sells," Booth said.

Another investor, David Gottwals, 63, an advertising executive from Tampa, agreed. He bought the property in 2004 for $168,000 and recently put it up for sale at $220,000.

He is in no hurry to sell, he said, partly because of the golf membership.

"I can tell you it's very first class and I play golf all over the world," he said.

Jim Doyle, LandMar's vice president of marketing, said the company did work with builders to limit the number of investment homes and rental properties in the subdivision.

He also said, in an e-mail, that with its golf course and other features, Landmar "is ensuring Southern Hills will be a vibrant community."

Marvin Rose, a Tampa Bay housing analyst, agreed that LandMar will eventually be just that.

He compared it to St. Joe Co., the largest private landowner in the state, which has found few buyers for its luxury subdivisions in the Panhandle. Those properties are far removed from a large population center.

"Southern Hills is in a metropolitan area and in a growth segment of that metropolitan area," Rose said.

"Like everyone, they've had their share of investors."

Dan DeWitt can be reached at dewitt@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6116.

[Last modified September 30, 2006, 21:15:50]