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Vanguard Land Co. bet big on properties coming out of the last decade’s economic recession that many believed were unsalvageable, boom-time pipe dreams best left alone.
In south Sarasota County, the Sarasota investment company partnered in early 2014 with Ontario-based Mattamy Homes to buy the nearly 10,000-acre Thomas Ranch, which would become part of the West Villages master-planned community.
In addition to its sheer size, the property was saddled with a location between North Port — a municipality whose ambitions and desire for growth exceeded the number of people who lived there — and Port Charlotte, a Charlotte County city that never quite fulfilled the potential it was sold on in the 1960s.
Undaunted, Vanguard Land and Mattamy teamed to strike a deal with lender Synovus Bank to acquire the property for $86.25 million — at the time one of the largest residential land deals in the nation.
The risk there was considerable, but not unfamiliar.
Two years earlier, Vanguard had negotiated with lender Wells Fargo to buy 113 home sites in the luxury The Concession Golf Club & Residences community in Manatee County — east of Lakewood Ranch.
Conceived in 2003 by Core Development Inc., the co-developer of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, the $600 million project was viewed by many as too isolated, too far from both the area’s beaches or urban centers.
Despite sporting a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course that had won national attention, many believed the 1,250-acre Concession’s second phase would wither from lack of consumer interest.
Vanguard’s $7.9 million purchase showed it disagreed.
By 2017, all of the Concession’s lots were sold out. In many cases, the land Vanguard paid roughly $70,000 a lot for sold, in turn, for $350,000 and up.
In both instances, Vanguard’s chief executive downplays the risk the firm took on and credits its market analysis for its success.
“We were aware of the housing starts, what they had been in the boom times and where they were during and after the recession,” says John Peshkin, the former CEO of British homebuilder Taylor Woodrow N.A. who formed Vanguard Land in 2008.
“We saw where they were starting to go beginning in 2011, and we through analysis concluded that they were well below the historical trend lines and numbers. From a macro-economic perspective, we knew things were and would be improving. Looking at it from a cyclical view, we were expecting an uptrend.”
Peshkin notes that in both developments, Vanguard Land was able to negotiate with lenders, motivated sellers anxious to clear loans that were either nonperforming or projected to underperform from their collective books.
In both cases — and in other developments that it has taken on — Vanguard acquired the land at a basis that minimized its risk considerably.
“To buy at the basis we did, to buy finished lots in the Concession meant that we assumed no development risk,” Peshkin says. “Our cost was less than it would have been to develop there, which meant that no one could compete with us.
“And we knew Lakewood Ranch, and the quality there, and the Mall at University Town Center being developed at the time nearby, both were tangible, positive assets that further compelled us forward.”
Taken together, Peshkin says Vanguard’s risk to reward ratio was small.
“I think we fully understood the community and the surrounding area, and based on that we believed that we’d benefit from any recovery,” he says. “Fortunately for us, the recovery was stronger and faster than we had initially projected.”
At The Ranch, in West Villages, Vanguard’s familiarity with Mattamy — several of its top executives had worked at Taylor Woodrow — as well as investments nearby by homebuilding powerhouses such as Lennar Homes, Neal Communities, WCI Communities and Pulte Homes gave the company confidence.
Again, in-depth financial analysis proved to be key.
“We ran several scenarios for risk-adjusted returns and came up with what success would look like,” Peshkin says. “Ultimately we saw it as a prized asset with a lot of opportunity.”
West Villages is today among the fastest-growing master-planned communities in the nation, consistently ranked among Lakewood Ranch and other projects for sales and investments.
In November, Mattamy announced it had acquired all of Vanguard Land’s interest for an undisclosed amount.
Peshkin, who led the Vanguard Land-Mattamy partnership and the “execution of strategies” developed in conjunction with Mattamy leadership, stepped down.
“It was a favorable agreement for both parties,” Peshkin says only.
With Concession and The Ranch behind it, Vanguard Land has turned its focus to a series of other, albeit somewhat smaller in most cases, projects.
In Sarasota County, it has teamed again with Mattamy to deliver Sunrise Preserve, with 425 homesites, and with DR Horton to develop Toscana Isles, with 1,700 homesites in Venice.
Venice, too, is also the site of Mira Sol, a 50-acre, mixed-use project being designed for apartments and potentially senior living units, retail and office space. Vanguard Land has 32 of the projects’ total acreage it is currently marketing.
Elsewhere in the county, Vanguard Land has acquired a select few homesites on Siesta Key for a series of luxury homes, and the company also controls commercial properties in Tampa, Bradenton, Largo, West Palm Beach and Queens, N.Y.
And while Vanguard Land remains bullish about the future and the economy, Peshkin acknowledges that the company has had to alter its business plan and rely less on distressed land deals.
“We recognize there’s not a lot of low-lying fruit now,” he says. “We’re having to re-invent ourselves and we’re modifying our business strategy to meet the new market we’re in.”
On the land side, the company is concentrating on adding value not through purchases as much as design, engineering and in the entitlement process.
But at least one thing has not changed — the company’s core philosophy.
"We tend to dwell in the fear of failure rather than in past success,” Peshkin says. “We always try to measure ourselves looking forward rather than back. And we maintain a conservative view of things and always stay focused on looking at potential exit strategies."
At a recent Girls Inc. fundraising dinner held at new home
models in The Concession, builder Randy Turkovics described the golf community as “a
great neighborhood.”
Until recently, that statement — by the president of Neal Signature Homes, no less —
would have been a stretch at best.
Conceived during the past decade's residential real estate boom, the luxury Concession,
despite its Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, suffered through anemic lot and home
sales when the Great Recession took hold.
Many completed streets contained few houses, if any. The place had a plantation feel to
it more than a neighborhood one.
But now, if you were to pick the high-end face of the recovering Southwest Florida real
estate market, it would likely be The Concession.
After years of stagnation, the development is filling in with new — and big — expensive
houses, including a series of models priced in the $1.5 million-to-$2 million range on
Lindrick Lane.
With 55 lot sales in 2014 and 87 since a second phase was rescued from foreclosure and
relaunched in December 2012, The Concession has regained lost ground.
It's not just land that is moving. Sixteen houses were completed last year, 22 are under
construction and 14 more are planned.
“The pace of sales and the recent pricing strength we have achieved certainly exceeded
what we anticipated,” said John Peshkin, whose land investment company bought Phase 2's
land in a $7.9 million deal with Wells Fargo three years ago.
Today, the lots Peshkin's firm bought for about $69,000 apiece are selling for $250,000
to $350,000.
“There has been a significant amount of appreciation,” Peshkin said.
Models in Phase 2 average 4,000 square feet, and are priced from $1.4 million to $2.2
million. Many have guest suites or “casitas,” a popular option among new buyers.
It appears that many new buyers don't consider The Concession — long derided as being
too remote with a location at the very end of University Parkway, nearly seven
miles from I-75 — too far out of the way at all.
Concession lot owner Don Ragley, recently retired from a Defense Department career that
required a 90-minute commute from his home in Virginia, says driving 10 or 12 minutes to
the interstate is not an issue.
“We are big golfers, and The Concession is gorgeous,” said Ragley, who is building a
4,000-square-foot house with Johnson Homes.
“We like the natural beauty of the property and the nice-sized lots, with a nice view
out of the back.”
The Concession has gotten a boost from both the newly completed $315 million Mall at
University Town Center, a 12-minute drive, and increased amenities in nearby Lakewood
Ranch.
“The people who think it is remote are people coming from downtown,” Concession co-
developer Kevin Daves said. “But the people in the Lakewood Ranch area don't consider it
remote at all.”
Nearly 60 percent of recent buyers are moving from Lakewood Ranch, said Mark Bruce,
director of sales for The Concession Realty Co.
“The Lakewood Ranch people moving out are in the 38- to 50-year-old category,” Bruce
said. “Maybe they built in there in 2005 and are looking for a change. They want a
gated, truly luxury-type setting. I am not trying to throw darts; it's just what we are
hearing.”
Bruce said the balance of buyers have come from Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey and
New York.
But Peshkin attributes the increase in sales to something else: “The homeowners'
association has made a lot of improvements to the common areas,” such as a fresh layer
of asphalt on the roads and new landscaping, he said.
“When we bought the property, a number of homesites or homes were in various stages of
distress,” Peshkin added. “Almost all of those have cleaned up or are under
construction.”
He said that push accelerated development.
“Once you get momentum in a community and everything looks good, and you see starts all
over the community, suddenly it is the place to be, and all of those negatives that
existed at the time we acquired the lots have now gone away,” said Peshkin, former chief
executive of homebuilder Taylor Woodrow N.A.
“So it is building on its own momentum. It has taken a couple years, but now the
Realtors and the public are comfortable that it is all positive. We are the beneficiary
of that.”
Thanks to a soaring stock market and an improving economy, many buyers have snapped up
Concession lots at a significant discount to boom-time prices.
In 2013, for example, the average lot sales price was $113,000. Last year, the average
was $253,000, Daves said. Lakefront lots are now pushing $350,000.
Ragley, for one, is thrilled. He bought his lakefront lot in early 2013 for $200,000. A
lot
next to his recently sold for $307,000.
Even longtime owners — Lakewood Ranch businessman Lou Marinaccio, for instance — say
they are pleased with the upturn.
Marinaccio bought in 2006, when Concession lots started at $500,000 and topped out at $1
million.
“We are business people, we are not retirees,” said Marinaccio, who moved his
commercial insurance brokerage to Lakewood Ranch from Chicago in 1999. “If I were a
retiree, I probably would be more concerned. But it is the nature of pricing that
sometimes things become less expensive. It is possible that the land was somewhat
overpriced at one time.
“I think the developers are very smart to realize that they now have absorbed the low-
hanging fruit and now the pricing will start to go back up.”
Marinaccio is pleased by another Concession development, too — the addition of more
families. Nearly two dozen new homeowners have children at home, he said, a shift that
is creating the neighborhood Turkovics spoke of recently.
“Because of market conditions and pricing, it has offered itself to a broader base of
people,” he said. “I am happy to see young people come out, and families.”
Marinaccio, his wife and their dog share a five-bedroom, 10,000-square-foot mansion
built by John Cannon Homes.
He smiles as he says that they are so squeezed for space, they're building a guest house
next door.
Many new Concession buyers seem to feel the same way.
“The implication a couple of years ago was that homes were going to be smaller. . . .
Nobody was going to be building big homes anymore,” Daves said.
“Now we have people looking at three (adjoining) lots and building major houses,” he
added.
Still, Daves acknowledges that the vision for The Concession remains incomplete.
“I looked at this as a three-prong stool,” he said. “Build a great golf course, build a
great clubhouse and have 234 great homes out there that people live in.”
Of the three, the first two goals have been accomplished.

NORTH PORT - Canada's largest homebuilder plans to team up with
a Sarasota
developer and land investor to construct more than 11,000 homes in South Sarasota
County.
In one of the largest Southwest Florida land deals in recent history, Mattamy Homes and
Vanguard Land Co. paid $86.25 million this week for a 9,650-acre tract in and around
North Port known as Thomas Ranch.
Development is expected to begin in 2016 and span 20 to 25 years, with 700-2,000
homes built at a time.
The property has already been approved for more than 11,000 homes and 3 million
square feet of commercial space.
Vanguard Land, a Sarasota real estate acquisition and development firm headed by
former Taylor Woodrow N.A. CEO John R. Peshkin, will be a minority partner and
provide planning and direction.
"It's very rare to find a property of this size with the comprehensive plan approvals,"
Peshkin said Friday. "It's a great location and a great market, one of, if not the best,
tracts of land on the west coast of Florida."
If built out as expected, the project will dwarf other sizable residential developments
in
progress or planned for the area, including Grand Palm by Neal Communities; Gran
Paradiso by Lennar Homes; and IslandWalk by DiVosta.
David Hunihan, director of sales at Neal, said Thomas Ranch wouldn't so much be
competition for the 1,999-home Grand Palm project, so much as it would provide
another option that ultimately draws potential homebuyers to the area.
"I look at it more from an abundance mentality," he said. "Communities different than
ours make the pie bigger and appeal to more people, rather than us fighting over the
same buyer."
Homebuilders also seem to believe buyers are ready now and will be in the future. In
pre-recession years, builders annually pulled permits for about 6,000 new homes in
Sarasota and Manatee counties. Today, even with a new-home resurgence, residential
construction is about half that level.
"There is still room to grow just to get back to normal levels," Hunihan said.
Thomas Ranch, which lately has been used as grazing land by 150 head of cattle, has
long been in play for potential development.
Previously known as the Taylor Ranch and the Berry Ranch, it was part of the ambitious
West Villages residential and commercial project proposed just as the the mid-2000s
boom market was faltering.
The ranch also marks Oakville, Ontario-based Mattamy's largest real estate purchase in
10 years of operating in the United States.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, from our perspective," said chief operating
officer Brian Johnston. "In Canada, there are large tracts of land, but nothing remotely
close to being as developable as this piece of land."
Home sales will target all segments, including first-time buyers and families, Johnston
said, but primarily current and future retirees whose numbers will be swelled by aging
baby boomers.
"We're extremely excited about the growth potential of this part of Florida -- we
believe
that the baby boomer demographic will continue to look to Florida as a place they want
to retire," said Peter Gilgan, Mattamy's founder and CEO.
North Port Mayor Jim Blucher said the city has planned for the massive kind of
developments that Thomas Ranch could bring to the area.
"If their building plans aren't much different than the old owner, then I'm delighted
with
it," he said. "The devil is always in the details, but I wouldn't expect it to be much
different."
Mattamy plans a variety of home sizes and price points, Johnston said. Additionally,
some parcels may be carved out and sold to other builders to develop their own
communities.
More than 6,000 acres are within the City of North Port, while the remaining 3,650 acres
are situated in unincorporated Sarasota County.
Peshkin said he contacted Mattamy to team up on the project because he knew the
company was comfortable with long-term land investments and development timelines.
Although homebuilding was brought to a virtual halt during the Great Recession, Peshkin
believes Thomas Ranch will be sustainable -- even when other future downturns occur.
"There will be other cycles again, but we have the financial strength to work through
cycles," he said. "There will be some ups and downs with a project of this size, and we
expect that. But the long-term demographic trend is very favorable."
The property was sold by an affiliate of Thomas Enterprises Inc. of Atlanta, a real
estate
developer whose plans for a large-scale commercial project on the land never came to
fruition.
Mattamy, with $1.4 billion in annual revenue and more than 60,000 completed homes in
61 North America communities, is already active in Southwest Florida.
Earlier this year it paid $17.2 million for 235 acres in Lakewood Ranch to build 675
single-family and town homes.
It also has residential communities in Jacksonville and Orlando.
Peshkin, a veteran developer whose resume includes 24 years with Taylor Woodrow,
helped found Starwood Land Ventures, an affiliate of giant equity firm Starwood Capital
Group Global. He was the company's first CEO before forming his own firm.
Vanguard Land's current projects include the second phase at The Concession luxury golf
course community in Lakewood Ranch, and Portofino, a planned 50-acre commercial
development in Venice slated to contain 450,000 square feet of retail and
office space.
SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. -- A huge land deal was made near North
Port
this
week in which nearly 10,000 acres were sold to the largest home builder
in Canada for more than $86 million.
The Thomas Ranch property sold to Mattamy Homes and a local real estate
firm. The property, which is partially in Venice but mostly in North
Port, has already been approved for more than 11,000 homes.
"It's a lot of money; there is no question," says John Peshkin with
Vanguard Land, a Sarasota real estate investment firm. They're now
minority partners with Mattamy Homes after the $86.25 million deal.
"They are the largest builder in Canada; very successful company."
Together they purchased 9,600 acres in what is known as Thomas Ranch
and the West Villages Improvement District. The land is off U.S. 41
between South Venice and North Port.
"Everything is very well developed along the coast, except for this
property." Along the stretch, homes in other nearby developments are
springing up every day: Island Walk, Grand Paradiso, and a newer
Sarasota National. "It's too early for us to start telling what we will
and won’t do, but obviously our plan will be to continue to develop
large communities which are there today," says Peshkin.
He says the area is accounting for around 25% of all new home sales in
the region. "Those projects account for about 5,000-6,000 homes that
are well on their way., selling briskly."
11,000 homes and 3 million square feet of commercial space has already
been approved on the ranch. "Today, 60%-80% of the market is focused on
that pre-retiree or retiree. Over time, as the commercial elements of
this project develop and there are more rooftops, we will certainly
look to different market segments."
That could mean some workforce housing. The development will be done in
phases and is expected to begin in 2016. "We are excited about the long
term future of this."
The company says they will likely develop up to 75% of the land during
the next two and half decades.
NOKOMIS - A company managed by John R. Peshkin bought 65 acres
off
Laurel Road here out of foreclosure for $5 million, or roughly $77,000
per acre, records show.
The former Taylor Woodrow North American chief executive formed land
investment and private equity firm Vanguard Land Co. in 2009. It has
been a major player in buying up distressed property.
The seller was OB Waterford LLC, a Bradenton company managed by Mark
Collier, records show.
The land previously belonged to a company managed by Venice developer
Mike Miller, which paid $21 million in September 2005, records show.
Miller's company -- Waterford at Laurel Park North LLC -- lost a $25.1
million foreclosure judgment to the now defunct Orion Bank in May 2009.
Peshkin's company, Laurel Road Property LLC.
VENICE - John Peshkin says he is taking a big risk.
Although existing retail at Laurel Road and Knights Trail struggles to
find tenants, Peshkin wants to build a complex with potential for
stores and offices at the crossroads east of Interstate 75.
"This is a big gamble I'm willing to take," said Peshkin, whose Laurel
Road Property LLC has an option to buy the foreclosed property where a
Walmart was once proposed.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-2 to approve Portofino, a
commercial-residential development on 50 acres at the northeast corner
of the intersection.
Peshkin and the council are aware that The Shoppes at Laurel Square, on
the northwest corner, remains mostly vacant.
Still, they express optimism that the recovering housing market in the
North Venice area will provide enough future customers to make
Portofino successful.
Willow Chase and Venetian Golf and River Club, to the east on Laurel
Road, are reaching buildout. Construction is expected to start later
this year on the 1,700-home Toscana Isles, north of Portofino on
Knights Trail. And plans for other developments are in the works for
the recent extension of Jacaranda Boulevard and just west of I-75, on
Pinebrook Road.
Portofino could have as many as 650 homes, although that could only
happen if none of the 450,000 square feet in approved retail and office
space is built.
"That's a fallback in case the commercial doesn't work," said Jeff
Boone, Peshkin's attorney.
Council members Jim Bennett and Dave Sherman cast dissenting votes.
They objected to a council majority overturning a recommendation by the
Planning Commission.
The Planning Commission wanted to require separate approvals for any
drive-throughs, take-out windows or outdoor garden centers, which would
have called for additional public hearings.
Most council members agreed with Peshkin that the extra steps seemed
unnecessary.
Peshkin said he would be unlikely to attract an anchor retail tenant if
it could not be assured up front about having a garden center.
The same obstacle would apply to most major restaurant chains, which
now include pick-up windows, and banks and pharmacies, for which
drive-through lanes are standard, he said.
Boone says Portofino is "a significant downsizing" compared with a
development plan approved for the site in 2007.
That plan called for 650,000 square feet of commercial use, including a
"big box" store of more than 200,000 square feet on the eastern end of
the property that Walmart intended to fill.
Although nearby residents objected strenuously to the Walmart, the city
approved the project -- which never materialized.
Peshkin said he conducted 15 meetings with roughly 100 area residents
to get their input and reworked his plan several times to accommodate
them.
Although a few residents preferred that the council agree with the
Planning Commission's recommendation to require special exceptions for
some commercial features, most who spoke or wrote to the City Council
expressed support for Peshkin's proposal as presented.
Portofino calls for an anchor store of up to 190,000 square feet on the
west end of the property, off Knights Trail, and a mix of retail and
office buildings of varying size elsewhere on the site.
Five acres at the northeast corner is for residential use only, though
some residential could be mixed with commercial on the remaining 45
acres.
Churches, arenas and movie theaters are not included but could be
allowed if approved separately by the City Council.
Peshkin agreed, in writing, that prohibited businesses include pain
management clinics, adult entertainment venues, utility plants,
manufacturers and warehouses.
VENICE - Vacant stores and undeveloped retail properties have
dominated
what was intended to be a commercial hub at Laurel Road and Knights
Trail east of Interstate 75.
But with the cloud from the Great Recession fading, business appears to
be picking up.
Another sign came Tuesday when John Peshkin of Laurel
Road Property LLC asked the city of Venice to approve a mixed-use
project on 50 undeveloped acres at the northeast corner of the
intersection.
Called "Portofino," Peshkin's development would replace another
proposed by developer Mike Miller in 2007 that included a
200,000-square-foot Walmart, which many residents opposed.
Portofino would include 425,000 square feet of retail and office
buildings and 650 single- family homes, villas, townhouses and assisted
living facilities.
Businesses could include restaurants, a garden center, hotel, day-care
center, banks and doctors' offices. The maximum building height would
be four stories.
Churches, arenas and movie theatres are not included but could be
allowed if approved separately by the City Council.
Peshkin agreed, in writing, that prohibited businesses include pain
management clinics, adult entertainment venues, utility plants,
manufacturers and warehouses.
Many residents of the nearby Willow Chase and Venetian Golf and River
Club subdivisions, with whom Peshkin conducted several meetings, still
dislike the idea of a "big-box" store.
They spoke favorably about Portofino to the City Council, though. They
foresee a need for smaller commercial uses in the area, even though the
existing The Shoppes at Laurel Square on the northwest corner of the
same crossroads remains mostly vacant.
Jerry Jasper, a board member for the community development district for
Venetian Golf and River Club, would prefer some components of Portofino
be approved on "a case by case basis." Otherwise, he thinks more retail
and professional services will be "beneficial" for new and future
residents.
Richard Barber, a vice president of WCI Communities (which is still
developing Venetian Golf and River Club), expressed support as well.
"The area has been underserved by retail and restaurant services,"
Barber said.
Portofino is south of Toscana Isles, a subdivision of more than
potential 1,000 homes on Knights Trail where construction could begin
this spring.
Habitat for Humanity South Sarasota County intends to build homes on a
two-acre site between Toscana Isles and Portofino.
Judy Wilcox, Habitat's director, said the nonprofit favors Portofino as
well.
"We wanted to make sure we weren't a little island out there with
nothing around us," Wilcox said.
Jeff Boone, attorney for Laurel Road Property LLC, said including a
residential component in Portofino will increase demand for its retail
and other businesses in the vicinity.
"It's ideally located," Boone said, noting the site's proximity to
Interstate 75 and Laurel Road. "... Now that the Great Recession has
ended, the Laurel Road corridor is ready for development."
The City Council will get another look at the project in a second
public hearing in a few weeks.
Laurel Road Property LLC is under contract to buy the site from OB
Waterford LLC, which is based in Lafayette, La.
Caribbean Bay Mortgage Lender LLC, a Wilkes-Barre, Penn. company
managed by William M. Lezinski, sold 404 Acres at 899 Knights Trail
Road in Nokomis and 141 acres off Venice Avenue in Venice to seven
companies managed by John R. Peshkin.
Peshkin, the former chief executive of international homebuilder Taylor
Morrison, paid $6.75 million for the land, or nearly $15,000 per acre.
It previously belonged to Venice homebuilder Jacques Cloutier, who was
murdered in Costa Rica last year.
Cloutier paid $12 million, or $30,000 per acre, for the 404 acres off
Knights Trail in August 2002. He bought the land off Venice Avenue for
$9.7 million, or $68,500 per acre, in June 2005.
CPLP Lots LLC, a Sarasota company managed by land investor John
Peshkin, has purchased a 2,474-square-foot house and 25 acres of land
at 650 E Laurel Road in Nokomis out of foreclosure from CRM Florida
Properties LLC for $750,000.
The property previously belonged to MTH Associates LLC, a Califon, N.J.
company managed by Robert Mansell and William Hildebrandt.
MTH bought the property for $2.76 million in August 2004 and lost a
$4.3 million foreclosure judgment to SunTrust in November 2011.
BUYER: UGLP Lots LLC, Sarasota
SELLER: University Parkway Properties LLC and University Groves
Development LLC PROPERTY: 8224 E. 36th St., Sarasota
PRICE: $1.55 million
LAW FIRM ON DEED: Icard Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg PA,
Sarasota
PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota-based residential investment group
Vanguard Land LLC purchased 13.8 acres of vacant land north of
University Parkway and west of Tuttle Avenue for $1.55 million.
The price equated to $112,319 per acre.
The University Grove property included the infrastructure and most of
the approvals for a 78-unit town home development.
“Even in the market we are in now, this product would perform well
today,” says Dan Peshkin, an owner of Vanguard Land. “We intend to sell
the lots to homebuilders.”
The new ownership is discussing the possibly of developing additional
community amenities. The development is being called the Estates of
University Grove.
Jeanne Hamill of Coldwell Banker St. Armands Circle represented the
seller and Joe Boguszewski, also of Coldwell Banker St. Armands Circle,
represented the buyer.
Vanguard Land owns seven residential projects along the Gulf Coast,
including Palmer Oaks, off Honore Avenue south of Clark Road in
Sarasota, and Bucks Run Preserve, in Naples.
WCP Lots LLC, a Sarasota company managed by John Peshkin, has sold 21
vacant lots in Venice's Willow Chase subdivision to Texas homebuilder
DR Horton Inc. for $1.05 million, or $50,000 per lot.
Peshkin's company bought 93 lots in Willow Chase out of foreclosure
from BB&T in December for $2.36 million, or $25,400 per lot.
Peshkin served as the chief executive of international homebuilder
Taylor Wimpey from October 2001 to June 2006.
