iStar Financial sees great potential in the Tetherow destination resort west of Bend and plans to make improvements to the community as it markets 159 residential lots the Company acquired recently through foreclosure from TD Cascade Highlands of Eugene.
“We believe strongly in Tetherow’s prospects going forward. The community delivers a unique mix of attributes that we feel are perfectly suited to Bend’s active lifestyle and contemporary aesthetic. We are already working with the community’s other developers to make enhancements with the intent of helping Tetherow realize its original potential,” said Eric Brooks, iStar Financial vice president, land.
Tetherow is a 700-acre destination resort featuring the golf course designed by architect David McLay Kidd, is punctuated by single-family home sites, townhomes and first-class amenities. Overnight lodging offerings are also in the works.
Through the acquisition, iStar Financial now controls 159 residential lots and becomes Tetherow’s master declarant. As such, the Company stated that its work will extend to improvements to many public areas of the community.
“We plan to invest in a number of enhancements at Tetherow beyond the borders of the lots we own and we’re excited by the progress being made by the other owners,” said Jan Cooper, iStar Financial vice president, sales and strategic marketing. “There is a lot of positive energy at Tetherow today and we plan to get started immediately to restore the vision for the community.”
iStar Financial expects its acquisition will contribute to the sales momentum that has been building recently at Tetherow. Lot sales in Tetherow have gained velocity in 2012 with 12 transactions since the beginning of the year. Membership in the golf course at Tetherow has also doubled in the past 18 months.
Tetherow is not iStar Financial’s first development project. Over the past several years, it has assumed ownership of more than 20 land assets across the U.S through the foreclosure process. One of the things the company quickly realized was that the assets were in solid locations and markets. The company made the strategic decision NOT to discard the assets at discounted values, but rather to build a land development team within the organization to manage these assets. The company now has almost twenty people focused on building a top-tier development company within iStar that they hope will create a $1-billion-plus leader in the industry.
iStar is one of the largest investors in luxury condominium, multifamily and master-planned residential developments throughout the United States, having financed and invested $10 billion in residential projects since 1993. iStar’s portfolio has included interests in over 18,000 condominium units in the nation’s top markets and 65,000 acres in master planned communities having the potential for an estimated 50,000 single family and multifamily units.
The Company’s platform extends from property acquisition, entitlement development and construction, through financing, asset, property and portfolio management.
iStar Financial is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SFI. Additional information on iStar Financial is available on the Company’s website at www.istarfinancial.com
