Starwood Capital Group Acquires 11 Master-Planned Communities in Texas from Hines

A joint venture between an affiliate of Starwood Capital Group, a global private investment firm with a primary focus on real estate, and an affiliate of Land Strategies Management (DBA Starwood Land), announced today that it has completed the acquisition of a portfolio of master-planned communities in Texas from Hines, a global real estate investment manager, for approximately $800 million.

The acquisition comprises 11 master-planned communities that are in advanced stages of development, with more than 16,000 remaining residential lots and over 600 acres of commercial land, across three of the ten largest U.S. new home markets: Dallas, Houston, and Austin. The communities are all located in high-growth submarkets with established track records of strong homebuilder activity. The developments include: Dallas – Wildflower Ranch, Creekside, Aster Park, Northspur, Myrtle Creek, Furst Ranch, and Redden Farms; Houston – Brookewater, Creekhaven, and Wildrye; Austin – Mirador.

“This is a high-quality portfolio created by a first-class investment manager and developer, and we plan to build upon the excellent work Hines has completed to-date and bring the development vision for these communities to fruition,” said Mike Moser, CEO of Starwood Land. “We look forward to engaging with homebuilders to expand the communities’ offerings.”

Anthony Murphy, Managing Director at Starwood Capital, said, “This investment continues Starwood Capital’s strategy of acquiring well-located master-planned communities in the largest new home markets to capitalize on compelling long-term residential land fundamentals. It presents a rare opportunity to acquire a large portfolio of mature communities with major infrastructure substantially completed and active lot sales to over 30 homebuilders.”

Ray Lawler, Managing Partner, Head of Americas at Hines said: “This transaction showcases the deep investment appetite for well-located, master- planned communities that deliver much-needed housing to high-growth markets, and capitalizing on tailwinds in the living sector. Single-family housing, and the living sector generally, is a high-conviction investment theme for Hines globally. We are delighted with the success of this deal, which enables us to continue to build our market-leading Living portfolio across the world, on behalf of our clients.”

Additional involved partners with Hines include Trez Capital – who is a partner on nine of the communities –Caravel Ventures, Bloomfield Homes, Sumitomo Forestry America, Estein USA, and GMcivil.

“These are exceptional developments in high-growth Texan markets, and Hines has done an outstanding job delivering well-positioned, high-quality communities,” said John D. Hutchinson, co-CEO and global head of origination at Trez Capital. “We look forward to seeing these communities continue to thrive under Starwood’s stewardship.”