Toll Brothers Picks Up the Atalon Project in Northeast Scottsdale

VIZZDA – October 9th, 2013 --Toll Brothers has purchased an 81 acre piece of raw land that is planned for a project named Atalon. The site is located just west of the northwest corner of 118^th Street and Jomax Road in northeast Scottsdale. The sale price was $5m or $61,728 per gross acre.

Atalon Site Plan from Developer Review Case, Approved January 5th, 2013

Atalon is an 81-acre low-density residential project that was originally approved by the city of Scottsdale in 2004 as a seventeen-lot single-family subdivision. In 2011, rezoning and a new design for the site was approved--enabling a 33-lot subdivision having a density of 0.53 dwelling units per acre. Entitlements were due to expire January 1st, 2014, but an extension has been granted enabling the approved project through January 1st, 2015. The city still must approve the final plat for the site, among other necessary municipal prerequisites before permits can be issued for building.

A significant detail of this project is the boulder outcroppings and two large ephemeral washes that run through the site, resulted in 19 acres being zoned as open space with environmentally sensitive lands. This leaves 62 of the 81 gross acres as developable, zoned R1-70. The density measurement is taken from the 62 acre site area. The 33-lot subdivision is to have minimum lot sizes of 52,500 square feet, having widths of 188 feet.

Brian and Sachada MacDonald of Bellevue, Washington were the sellers of the property, previously assembling the land between February 28th, 2003 and January 1st, 2005 for a total of $4,830,500. The MacDonalds' land interest in the area date back to 1981 when Brian purchased 80 acres as a quarter section.

Daniel Alpers

Vizzda.com

Toll Brothers Picks Up Entitled Residential Acreage in Queen Creek

VIZZDA—June 21^st, 2013 — Pennsylvania Homebuilder, Toll Brothers, has acquired 81.89 acres of graded and entitled land, planned for 112 single-family residences. Formerly known as Vaquero Estates, the parcel—located at the southeast corner of Recker and Ocotillo Roads in Queen Creek—was approved for a final plat as Dorada Estates on June 18^th, 2013.

The planned subdivision is zoned R1-18 and features typical lot dimensions of 120’ by 175’ with a minimum lot dimension of 120’ by 150’. All lots have 25’ front, 30’ rear and 10’ side setbacks for a 35% lot coverage ratio. The approved density for the project is 1.37 density units per acre. The sale price represents $117,612.50 per acre, $84,009 per planned lot and $700 per planned front foot.

The property has changed hands several times over the past decade at several different valuations. The Reeb Group acquired the site as agricultural land on January 16^th, 2004 for $3.158m or $38,893 per acre with $1,151,762 down and assumption of an existing lien on the property, which was discharged following the sale. Reeb sold the property in less than two years to the current sellers—Woodbury Corp. of Salt Lake City, Utah—for $13.5m, a 323% absolute rate of return.

While Woodbury did not finance its acquisition of the parcel, it did secure $6.75m in new debt with an affiliated entity on September 26^th, 2005. This note was replaced with a $10m note accruing to the benefit of Zions First National Bank, issued April 18^th, 2008. An October 12^th, 2012 modification to the Zions deed of trust decreased the principle balance to $5.5m and assign beneficial interest to the parent of Woodbury Corp. This debt was released with the current sale, though the $9.409m sales price represents a 30% realized decline in value over Woodbury’s holding period.

By:

Paul Dionne

Director of Analytics

Vizzda.com