A Miami company has purchased the 1,800-acre High Point development, a move that will accelerate the project near Denver International Airport.
LNR Property Corp. bought the property last week from Landmark Properties Group, the Denver development firm headed by Ray Pittman. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We felt the project has tremendous potential and really needed a stronger balance sheet behind it to bring the vision into reality,” Pittman said. “LNR is a very large, very well-capitalized player that will allow us to fulfill our plans and vision.”
Pittman expects the infusion of new capital to hasten development of the master-planned community, which will include residences, offices, a hotel and conference center, a golf course and a charter school. He has lobbied hard for a rail station near the East 68th Avenue and Tower Road project.
LNR, a spinoff of national homebuilder Lennar Corp., has $4 billion in assets. High Point is LNR’s first major investment in Colorado.
LNR has been looking for development opportunities in Colorado for more than a year, said Curt Stephenson, president of LNR’s national land division. High Point is a good project for LNR because of its diverse product type, he said.
“We are comfortable building office, retail apartments and industrial,” Stephenson said. “High Point has that capability. We have a good relationship with Lennar and other public builders, so the residential component didn’t scare us at all.”
Pittman will continue to oversee the development. He will become senior vice president of the mountain region for LNR and will work to expand the company’s Denver presence.
It’s difficult to determine the value of the deal because Pittman already has the appropriate approvals to develop the property with a mix of residences, office and retail space, said Steward Mosko, senior vice president of Fuller Real Estate.
“Having that entitlement takes it a step above being raw land,” Mosko said.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-820-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
