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Sacramento developer's projects here uncertain
| Wednesday, Mar 5 2008 5:43 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Mar 5 2008 9:48 PM
Through their living room window in a new Wasco subdivision, the Villalobos family can see tumbleweeds almost tall enough to ring a doorbell clog the entryway of an unfinished home across the street.
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In January, The Californian wrote about what industry professionals say is a first for metropolitan Bakersfield: A rash of developer defaults and foreclosures.
This is the first in an occasional series detailing the status of affected companies and projects.
We chose to profile Sacramento homebuilder Reynen & Bardis first since it had a large project slated for approval by the city of Shafter in February — though the vote was ultimately rescheduled for April 1.
Our next piece will focus on the City in the Hills area of northeast Bakersfield, where numerous projects from multiple developers appear to have slowed or stopped.
Click on the map to see a larger version.
Photos:
Isaac Villalobos, 2 and his cousin, Roslyn Garza, 3, play outside the Villalobos' home on Quaking Aspen Avenue in the Hidden Grove project of Reynen & Bardis Communities Inc. Eight houses in the development are finished. However, entire streets are left with empty house frames and foundations.
Amber Graham, 23, her daughter Cameran, 2 and husband live on Quaking Aspen Avenue in the Hidden Grove project of Reynen & Bardis Communities Inc., a Sacramento-based developer.
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“It’s sad that we got stuck here,” said Carlen Villalobos, 25, of the house she and her husband bought last fall in Hidden Grove, a tract off Palm Avenue north of Highway 46.
They live in one of eight homes completed before Sacramento developer Reynen & Bardis Communities Inc. halted construction here late last year, leaving idle partially constructed houses on many of the cul-de-sac’s dirt lots.
Hidden Grove’s future and that of at least seven other local Reynen & Bardis projects in Bakersfield, Wasco and Shafter are up in the air as the homebuilder’s finances teeter.
Not all projects are stalled: A 954-home development in Shafter is soon coming up for that city’s approval. It secured a $39.5 million construction loan in late 2007, one shared with two northwest Bakersfield sites.
Still, Reynen & Bardis is among a dozen or so developers who have defaulted on Kern projects carrying loans of $2 million or more, according to an ongoing Californian survey.
The largest so far is SunCal Cos.’ default on $74 million borrowed from Lennar Corp. against 515 acres in Shafter; the property foreclosed Wednesday.
It’s the first time metropolitan Bakersfield has seen such a spike in developer defaults and foreclosures, real estate professionals say, and it’s unclear what the final impact will be.
In the meantime, the resulting pinch goes beyond banks.
Some companies aren’t paying contractors, liens indicate, and are letting property taxes slide.
Project approvals for some developments could expire in the next year or two, possibly vexing expansion plans around the county.
THE RED
Reynen & Bardis, through limited partnership Reynen & Bardis (Cal Kern) LP, defaulted in December on nearly $6.9 million loaned for a northeast Bakersfield project. The lender, River City Bank, filed a lawsuit here in January over the debt.
Public records reveal dozens of liens filed by framers, glass companies, painters and plasterers seeking payment for work on the Hidden Grove tract in Wasco.
In December, the company missed semi-annual payments on about $240,000 worth of property taxes for sites in Bakersfield and Wasco, county records show.
Company officials did not return several calls seeking comment on the status of Kern projects.
The Sacramento Business Journal reported in late January the developer had hired a turnaround specialist, possibly to help find new investors for projects stretching from Sacramento to Bakersfield. The Sacramento Bee reported in late February homeowners in one Sacramento-area development have filed a lawsuit regarding defective homes built by Reynen & Bardis.
STILL GOING
Three local Reynen & Bardis project sites — all apparently partnered with a Bay Area investment firm — are up to date on property taxes and received recent construction financing from JP Morgan Chase, county filings show.
One is a proposed 954-home Shafter development called Gateway Estates.
The Shafter City Council was scheduled to vote on the project Feb. 19, but postponed the hearing until next month so environmental concerns could be addressed, planners said.
That project, through limited liability company SB RBLI Land Co (Shafter I) LLC, and two in northwest Bakersfield appear to be moving forward in conjunction with affiliates of San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Partners LLC, loan documents and state business records indicate.
Stockbridge’s executive managing director, Terrence E. Fancher, is also president of Bay Meadows Land Company, which owns the Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park horse racing tracks.
The company did not return several calls seeking comment about the status of the Kern projects.
THE PROJECTS
Below are details of Reynen & Bardis sites in Kern. As is typical for developers, each project is processed through a separate partnership or limited liability company.
Northeast Bakersfield
• Reynen & Bardis (Cal Kern) LP
Location: Northeast of the intersection of Morning Drive and Highway 178
Size: 240 lots on about 58 acres
Status: The lender is suing over a defaulted loan for nearly $6.9 million. Nearly $67,000 of property taxes weren’t paid in December, county records show. A tract map is set to expire in January 2009 unless an extension is requested, city records show.
• Bavaro Owner LLC
Location: Northwest of the intersection of Morning Drive and Auburn Street, straddling Panorama Drive
Size: 194 lots on about 67 acres
Status: The tract map is set to expire Aug. 31. About $55,000 in property taxes went unpaid in December.
Northwest Bakersfield
• SB RBLI Land Co. (North Kern TM 6419) LLC
Location: Southeast intersection of Calloway Drive and Etchart Road
Size: 229 lots on about 78 acres
Status: The site is one of three that received a joint $39.5 million construction loan in late 2007. The tract map expires in August 2009.
• SB RBLI Land Co. (North Kern II) LLC
Location: Southwest intersection of Coffee and Etchart Roads
Size: 483 lots on about 141 acres
Status: One of three sites included in a $39.5 million construction loan approved in late 2007. Application to city of Bakersfield is not yet complete.
Shafter
• SB RBLI Land Co (Shafter I) LLC
Location: Northwest intersection of Lerdo Highway and Cherry Avenue
Size: 954 homes on about 320 acres (Reynen & Bardis owns 151 acres of the project site; a second parcel directly north is owned by Sill Properties.)
Status: Scheduled for possible approval by the Shafter City Council April 1. One of three sites sharing a $39.5 million construction loan approved in late 2007.
Wasco
• Reynen & Bardis (Wasco) LP
Locations: The partnership owns acreage at two sites, property records show.
One is the Hidden Grove tract on the west side of Palm Avenue, north of Highway 46.
More land is owned south of 46, near the intersection of Central Avenue and 7th Street.
Size: 390 lots total on about 76 combined acres
Status: Hidden Grove’s first phase of 73 lots on 30 acres is under construction. Project approvals indicate 144 homes are planned in all. Building activity stopped in late 2007. Eight homes on Quaking Aspen Avenue are complete. Six have been sold to families now living in them. Numerous construction companies have filed liens seeking payment on unfinished homes.
The parcels south of 46 were approved for 246 lots in April 2004 and received one-year extensions in April 2006, meeting records show.
• Reynen & Bardis Communities Inc.
Location: Southwest intersection of Palm and Gromer avenues
Size: 369 lots on about 79 acres
Status: A tract map first approved in early 2005 is slated for a 3-month extension request Monday; a previous one-year extension was approved in February 2007.
The site is located directly north of the Hidden Grove tract.
About $81,000 worth of property taxes went unpaid in December.