San Elijo Hills is a 2,000 acre, 3,466 unit master plan community in San Marcos, California, that Accretive identified and acquired in 1994. After successfully filing and completing a consensual bankruptcy reorganization in 1994, Accretive closed an adjoining landfill, prepared an award winning land plan, obtained full development entitlements, and formed a development team to move the project forward. The National Association of Home Builders named San Elijo Hills “Master Planned Community of the Year”, the Pacific Coast Builders Conference honored it for a Golden Nugget Grand Award in the “Community/Town Plan” category, and it was also named “Best Master-Planned Community” out of 500 entries from throughout Southern California. The community is anchored by a traditional and walkable mixed use town center. Below is a link to view some of the more important value added actions Accretive successfully implemented at San Elijo Hills. $___ mm in profit has been generated to date.
Value Added Actions:
Increases Value:
- Perfected land plan:
- Redesigned the land plan from golf course, resort, community that had anemic market demand to an affordable master plan community with diverse product ranging from apartments and entry level housing to custom lots. The property was phased to reduce risk, and each phase had multiple products to maximize absorption through multiple and simultaneous builder sales;
- Replanned the commercial area, in conjunction with Peter Calthorpe and the development team, to create a horizontally and vertically mixed use commercial/residential Town Center focused around a town square. The Town Center is the number one reason buyers give for choosing San Elijo Hills; and,
- Assisted the San Marcos School District in planning a two story school that architecturally suited and anchored the Town Center. The school was designed around a library that is also available to the community.
- Reduced and fixed costs:
- Executed a Development Agreement with the City of San Marcos that:
- Required the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) to fund $27mm of backbone infrastructure by having the project acquire the RDA bonds if they were not marketable; and,
- Fixed the fees the project would have to pay the City.
- Improved perception of the School District that was significantly challenged, by supporting a bond measure and funding SAT tutorial programs.
- Closed an adjoining landfill by partnering with the City of San Marcos to enforce the operating provisions of a Conditional Use Permit the City had granted the County of San Diego to operate the landfill. It closed in 1997.
- Removed title encumbrances by reacquiring mineral rights from the California State Lands Commission on a portion of the property.
- Maximized sales revenue by implementing a sales approach that financially modeled what different builders could pay for lots and structured revenue and profit participation in the homebuilding operation.
