CALUSA PINES GOLF CLUB
From Raw Land to Renowned Private Club
Perhaps IHP’s greatest accomplishment is Calusa Pines Golf Club in Naples, Florida. For Gary Chensoff, company president and founder, Calusa Pines is the realization of a long-held vision. Under his direction, 530 acres of piney scrubland were transformed into a beautiful project. Today, Calusa Pines is one of the most highly regarded invitation-only private golf clubs in the nation. Calusa Pines opened for play in November 2001. Since then, it has consistently been ranked among the top 100 in the country and one of the top five in Florida.
The ranking is due greatly to its extraordinary engineering and design. Along with the Hurdzen-Fry Design team, IHP’s development team, led by Mr. Chensoff, turned relatively flat land into a naturally undulating property enhanced by existing and additional native vegetation all found within 15 miles of the site. A local mass excavator blasted through tons of rock to dig 72 acres of pristine lakes. Fill from the pond excavations was then used to enhance a 15-acre landmass that encompasses seven holes on the private Calusa Pines layout.
Members at Calusa Pines have come to expect the best. Membership is by invitation only and is limited to 275. Calusa Pines members understand a true golf-only facility, a world-class clubhouse and a strong caddie program. Calusa Pines has also built five gracious guest cabins for members, having completed the most recent eight-bedroom cabin in October 2021.
While the original mission for the 530 acres was to develop two golf courses, the second proposed golf course was entirely redesigned and converted to residential use. IHP successfully guided the adjacent property through the zoning and approval process, before selling the land to a public homebuilder. In the sale process, IHP took great pains to ensure that the ensuing residential development would be completely separated from and would have no visual impact on Calusa Pines.
WEST BAY CLUB
Our most prominent residential endeavor to date is West Bay Club in Estero, Florida, just north of Naples.
After managing the community for investors from 2003-2007, Indian Hill Partners purchased the remaining development assets at West Bay Club in February 2014. Currently, IHP, under its affiliate West Bay Hill, LLC, is developing The Island at West Bay, an exclusive 86-unit, 24-story residential tower as the final project to complete West Bay Club’s development. The tower’s innovative design provides each of the four residences per floor with a corner location to take advantage of the views of the Gulf of Mexico, Estero Bay, and the surrounding golf course and preserve areas from the oversized balconies. The Island will also feature a stunning rooftop amenity deck with a pool, wine bar, fitness area, hot tub, and firepits. Construction is expected to begin in late 2022 with an anticipated delivery in the 4th quarter of 2024.
IHP/West Bay Hill, is also developing Westlake Court, a 26 single-family residence luxury villa community. That project is in its final stages of development, with the final five homes sold and anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2022. Finally, IHP also owns the onsite community sales center for West Bay, in which it runs a residential brokerage operation through its affiliates West Bay Realty and Gulf and Bay Realty. In addition to the new sales at Westlake Court, we also handle resales in West Bay and throughout the Estero and Naples markets. Further information on The Island, Westlake Court, West Bay Club, and other sales can be found at www.islandwestbay.com , www.westbayrealty.com or www.westbayclub.com
IHP also had a previous role in the development of West Bay in the mid-2000’s. In 2003, an investment partner who’d acquired the asset invited IHP to oversee its development. At that time, few amenities had been built and only two lots had been sold in the previous two years. There was measurable discontent among residents and staff. Under IHP management:
- The Beach Clubhouse was renovated, including an 85-seat indoor/outdoor restaurant
- Plans for the $9-million Golf Clubhouse, the marquee amenity, were finalized and the project was completed.
- The overall community was brought up to pristine standards
- Sales leapt from 2 to 170 contracts in two years
- Single-family tracts were rezoned for high rises to meet population density needs
- Lee Building Industry Association named West Bay Club ” Community of the Year” and the Golf House ” Best Clubhouse” in 2006
- Two condominium towers, the Jasmine Bay towers, were planned, permitted, constructed and sold.
During IHP’s involvement from 2003-2007, the asset’s sales value aggregated over $300 million, including total sales volume in 2005 alone of $185 million.
GOLDEN GATE ESTATES – NAPLES, FL
IHP, through its affiliate Golden Land Partners LLC, acquired 26 single-family lots through foreclosure in the rural estates section of Naples, Florida known as Golden Gate Estates. These mostly wooded lots range in size from 1.14 to over 5 acres in size.
Golden Land Partners has sold approximately 50% of the lots, and is continuing to hold the remaining lots either for resale or for development. We are encouraged by the increase in values as the Naples residential market continues to expand to the north and east. It is likely that we may build spec homes on several of the lots throughout the remainder of 2022 and 2023.
Past Projects
ATLANTA AREA RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENTS
Over the last several years, IHP has selectively invested in several residential lot opportunities in the Atlanta area. In each case we have focused on the closer-in counties, purchasing only improved, entitled lots at a fraction of their reproduction cost.
PROVIDENCE WALK SUBDIVISION – CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA
In March 2011, IHP, through its subsidiary entity Providence Hill Partners, purchased all 139 substantially improved single-family lots in a 37-acre subdivision known as Providence Walk in Canton (South Cherokee County), GA.
The lots were purchased from a bank at a substantial discount to the cost of the already completed improvements, including streets, water and sewer, and sitework. In addition this subdivision benefits from low ongoing carrying costs, and by having a small percentage of homesites that would require basements, keeping overall development costs down for potential homebuilders.
The lots are well located, west of I-575 and adjacent to a successful community that was the #1 selling community in the state of Georgia for four consecutive years. There is little inventory of other finished or even partially developed lots in the immediate surrounding area, and a correspondingly low level of finished homes except at significantly higher price points than would be appropriate in this development.
UPDATE: In 2013 and 2014, Providence Hill sold all 139 lots to national homebuilder D.R. Horton, which is currently building out the subdivision.
EWING CHAPEL ESTATES – GWINNETT COUNTY, GA
In October 2010, IHP acquired 10 fully improved estate-sized lots in a 35-unit subdivision known as the Estates of Ewing Chapel in Dacula (Gwinnett County), GA.
These lots were also purchased from a bank at a significant discount to the value of the improvements on the site. Approximately one-third of the lots are improved with occupied homes.
Although home prices have declined in the subdivision from where they were four years ago, transaction activity has begun to pick up recently. This subdivision will see continued improvement as it is the only community in the nearby area with improved estate lots available ranging from one-third to one-half acre in size.
UPDATE: In May 2014, IHP sold four of the lots to a local homebuilder, and as of April 2016, IHP sold all remaining lots to a local homebuilder.
BROOKSTONE SUBDIVISION – FORSYTH COUNTY, GA
In May 2011, IHP acquired 14 fully improved townhome lots in the 275-unit subdivision known as Brookstone in Cumming (Forsyth County), Georgia.
These lots have all improvements in place, including streets, utilities and sitework, and were purchased from a bank at a fraction of the value of those improvements.
The project began initial development in 2005 with a national homebuilder at the helm. It is well-located right off Georgia 400, across the street from the Cumming Aquatic Center and a future expansion site for the campus of the College of North Georgia. It also is within minutes of several large employment generators, including the rapidly expanding Northside Hospital and the Cumming Marketplace, a 650,000 square foot retail and commercial development.
There are currently approximately 80 completed townhome units in the subdivision, along with a completed amenity center, and transaction activity has increased recently.
UPDATE: In April 2015, IHP sold these lots to a regional homebuilder which is in the process of completing development of the community.
THE REGISTRY
From Underperformance to Rising Returns
In 1995, IHP and an investment partner acquired joint interest in a struggling 474-room hospitality property, the Registry Resort in Naples, Florida. Originally sold as a condo-hotel, there was a management company, more than 400 individual owners and numerous loan defaults to work through. IHP subsequently bought out or refinanced the interests of over 300 owners. During the three years IHP managed the asset:
- Cash flow grew from $7.2 million to $14.9 million
- Total revenue increased from $34.8 million to $43.6 millions
- Revpar growth reached 19%
- IHP’s institutional partner received nearly a four-fold return on its unleveraged investment, when, in late 1997, the asset, now called The
- Naples Grande Resort and Club, was sold to Boca Resorts, Inc.
DOUBLETREE HOTEL
In 1996, IHP and its investment partners acquired a participating loan secured by the Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park, a 295-room business-travel hotel in Tucson, Arizona. In early 2001, the partnership assumed ownership and management of the hotel from Hilton Hotel Corporation. During IHP’s management:
- Net cash flow grew from $850,000 to nearly $1.4 million
- A complete renovation of rooms and meeting space along with construction of a new health club was funded
- The hotel was sold out at nearly 80% above the imputed value when bought from Hilton
RAMADA PLAZA
IHP purchased the Ramada Plaza Hotel in San Diego in 1997. The 150-room property, located in the Old Town area, was in foreclosure. IHP worked through the foreclosure proceedings and quickly sold the hotel at a significant profit, fully paying off the lender.