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While many real estate developers across the country struggle frantically to
divest properties with plummeting values, some land conservation groups are
quietly reaping the benefits, scooping up parcels to set aside for
preservation.
"Our phone is ringing a lot these days," said Will Rogers, president of the
Trust for Public Land, a nonprofit land conservation group. Who is on the line?
Developers who have gotten into trouble paying interest for properties they
hoped to flip for a quick turnaround when the market was hot, he said.
But as the housing market has gotten softer, more and more of those
developers are finding that they do not have the resources to pay the interest,
and many are seeking out conservation groups eager to buy the land for parks and
ecological preserves.
"We're seeing a range of opportunities across the country," Rogers said. He
said his group has been able to buy land for 10 percent to 40 percent less --
depending on the market -- than it would have cost several years ago.
'Conservation is a potential buyer'
Florida's real estate market has been one of the hardest hit by the slump,
and that is where conservation groups are seeing some of their biggest
gains.
Dean Saunders, a broker and owner of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real
Estate, said he has seen deals in Florida where land is selling for between
$7,000 and $8,000 per acre, whereas two years ago it might have sold for between
$10,000 and $12,000 per acre.
In Indian Shores, Fla. -- a developer's dream on the Gulf Coast just west of
Tampa Bay -- Atlantis West Development Inc. purchased about 4 acres in 2005 for
about $28 million with plans for a housing development. But when the real estate
market crashed, the land value was cut in half, and the developers are now in
talks with the Trust for Public Land to sell 2 acres of the property for a local
park, according to the conservation group. The group estimates the 2 acres are
now worth about $6 million.
The Nature Conservancy, a nationwide conservation group, has also seen a boom
in activity lately as developers look to get out from under the slumping
market.
"There's an awareness that conservation is a potential buyer," said Keith
Fountain, director of land acquisition for the group's Florida chapter.
Though the Nature Conservancy seeks larger tracts of land that may not be
slated for immediate development, the slowed real estate market has still
affected the organization, he said.
For example, timber companies in the Florida Panhandle region have been
liquidating their holdings in auctions, something Fountain said does not happen
during real estate booms. Ranchers in the state are also calling more often to
talk about land easements, another issue that was less common when the real
estate market was hot.
This year, the Nature Conservancy's Florida chapter is considering buying
between 85,000 and 100,000 acres for conservation, although Fountain said it was
unlikely the entire amount would be secured. Still, that is up from just 45,000
acres purchased in 2006.
And the trend is not limited to Florida.
The Trust for Public Land is working to buy 850 acres of Hawaiian beaches
that were slated for development, and the group recently secured a 27-acre
parcel from a developer in Portland, Ore., and a 360-acre farm in Massachusetts
where plans for a residential development were abandoned when the market
shifted.
Northeast of St. Paul, Minn., the Trust for Public Land plans to pay $3.8
million to buy a former Camp Fire Girls park. Two years ago, the Minnesota
Council of Camp Fire USA planned to sell the land to a developer for nearly $5
million, but the trust was able to step in when the real estate market
softened.
Some areas see fewer gains for land groups
While some markets have seen drastic declines in property values, others have
seen little change, according to Rogers of the Trust for Public Land. In areas
like Texas, Denver and Charlotte, N.C., property values are largely holding up,
he said.
Jane Prohaska, president and executive director of the Minnesota Land Trust,
said her organization has not seen a huge boost in land acquisitions due to the
declining real estate market.
In Minnesota, "most developers believe the housing market will come back as
long as population projections are what they are," Prohaska said.
Rather, Prohaska said the market's decline has provided communities an
opportunity for developers and conservation organizations to spend more time
planning for land preservation in conjunction with residential planning, instead
of rushing into development, which they may have done in the past.
"It certainly has slowed down the pressure in terms of sprawling urban
communities," Prohaska said.
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