Calaveras County: DLR has closed on two land-secured refundings for Saddle Creek, a golf community in the Sierra Nevadas. The Sales and Trading Desk found buyers who understood the developer’s long-term strategy.  •  Palmdale: DLR was sole Senior Manager on federally taxable Certificates of Participation so the city could acquire 600 acres for a 550-megawatt power plant to attract and retain businesses.  •  Chowchilla: DLR senior-managed a special bond for critical infrastructure improvement until development impact fees can be raised to support $93 million in residential, commercial and industrial projects.  •  Pittsburg: DLR was Senior Manager on a tax-allocation bond that raised almost $100 million for housing and other projects, and saved the city’s Redevelopment Agency another $3.5 million by refinancing earlier bonds.  •  Chula Vista: DLR senior-managed a tax-allocation bond after Chula Vista demonstrated that the future assessed value of the city’s Bayfront-Town Centre offsets a highly concentrated tax base.  •  Los Angeles: As book-running Senior Manager, DLR structured a $34.5-million pooled financing for the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency without a yield spread to adhere to the CRA policy to complete separation between project areas.  •  DLR senior-managed refunding of all outstanding debt at Ontario Airport, increasing the L.A. Department of Airports’ flexibility to define net revenues and its debt-service reserve fund – and reaffirm its “A” rating.  •  Long Beach: The city recently issued more than $190 million in redevelopment project financing, including $115 million of taxable bonds, in a Marks-Roos pooled issue to fund projects in five areas.  •  From naval base to housing space: Few could envision a new community when the Alameda Point Naval Air Station was decommissioned a decade ago. Today, a highly successful development with 300 homes occupies part of the old base.  •  Riverside County: DLR senior-managed a $25-million Mello-Roos financing to improve street, water, sewer, and other public facilities at Lake Hills Crest, a development with 512 single-family detached units.
 

Investors Jump for Calaveras County Golf Resort

$7,145,000
Calaveras County
Community Facilities District No. 2 (Saddle Creek)
Special Tax Bonds, Series 2006

$5,810,000
Calaveras County Water District
Reassessment District No. 2006-01 (Saddle Creek)
Limited Obligation Refunding Bonds, Series 2006
In August 2006, De La Rosa & Co. closed on two land-secured refunding transactions for a master-planned golf community in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Saddle Creek lies within both a Calaveras County community facilities district (CFD) and a Calaveras County Water District assessment district (AD). CFD and AD bonds were issued in 2001 for infrastructure improvements, but developer Castle & Cooke chose to build up the resort over a longer period. At the time of the refunding, five years after the original bonds were issued, only about 25% of the property was developed.

Because of time constraints, a full appraisal typical of land-secured financing in this early stage of development was not commissioned, making De La Rosa responsible for a higher level of due diligence before marketing the bonds to potential investors. The low build-out and lack of an appraisal were marketing challenges, but home prices in Saddle Creek were strong and Castle & Cooke had substantial financial resources. The DLR Sales and Trading Desk was able to price the bonds at lower interest rates than virtually all comparable land-secured issues, and find buyers who understood the developer’s long-term development plan.
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