Investment
Firm Buys Pointe West from Centex
Galveston County Daily News,
April 3, 2008
by
Laura Elder
GALVESTON
— Confirming rumors circulating for weeks, a Dallas
real estate investment firm said Wednesday it purchased
five resort properties from Centex Corp., including the
Pointe West development on almost 1,000 acres of the island’s
western tip.
Macfarlan Capital Partners
said Pointe West, along with two second-home properties
near Austin and those in Tuckasegee, N.C., and Lincoln,
N.H., would become part of the TerraMesa Resorts brand.
Centex Hospitality, which
consists of 135 employees overseeing the company’s
resort operations, was included in the acquisition.
Macfarlan declined to divulge
the purchase price of the properties it acquired from Centex
Destination Properties, a Centex Corp. subsidiary.
Altogether, Macfarlan purchased
3,900 acres — 1,900 of which are suitable for development.
The Pointe West property
consists of 948 acres, 300 of which are developable, a Macfarlan
spokesman said. TerraMesa will spend about $180 million
to complete resorts and improve amenities, officials said.
In Galveston, some of that
money will be spent finishing infrastructure and continuing
land development, Macfarlan officials said.
While real estate agents
continue to sell at Pointe West, Centex Destination Properties
in July said it had “adjusted” the pace of its
island development to accommodate a slower housing market.
A lull in construction at
Pointe West generated much rumor and speculation. Announced
five years ago, Pointe West was among the biggest real estate
projects ever proposed in Galveston.
Centex had said it planned
to develop a walkable community with single- and multifamily
residences from beach to bay at San Luis Pass, on the last
3.5 miles of the island’s West End. Centex said at
the time only 300 acres would be developed, the rest would
be left as green space.
The pool, club and restaurant
already are open at the resort, which includes some condominiums
and single-family homes. Neither Centex nor Macfarlan would
disclose the exact number of units.
TerraMesa Resorts, a subsidiary
of Macfarlan Capital Partners, specializes in vacation destination
properties.
Homeowners this week began
receiving letters from Centex informing them of the Pointe
West sale.
Centex said it would continue
providing warranties for their homes.
Last year was a particularly
tough one for Centex and most other major homebuilders.
For the third quarter of
fiscal year 2008, which ended Dec. 31, Centex reported revenues
$1.91 billion and a net loss of nearly $975 million, or
$7.94 per diluted share.
Wednesday’s announcement
by Macfarlan was the second large property sale this week
for Centex, which has made no secret it is working to generate
cash.
Centex Corp. said Tuesday
it sold 8,500 lots in 11 states to a joint venture led by
Dallas-based RSF Partners Inc. Centex received $161 million
in cash but included an expected tax refund of about $294
million, bringing the deal’s total value to $455 million,
the company said.
Macfarlan Capital Partners
has completed more than $1 billion in real estate investments.
Along with Pointe West, this
week’s acquisition includes: The Hollows on Lake Travis
and The Waters at Horseshoe Bay Resort on Lake Lyndon B.
Johnson, near Austin; Bear Lake Reserve in Tuckasegee, N.C.;
and South Peak Resort on Loon Mountain in Lincoln, N.H.
Macfarlan previously acquired
“V” at Lake Las Vegas in Nevada from Centex,
which also is a TerraMesa Resorts property.
