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Lennar Corp. buys 175 acres in Cane Bay

BY KATY STECH

The Post and Courier

Friday, July 9, 2010

Lennar Corp. has purchased 175 acres in the expanding Cane Bay Plantation neighborhood, a bullish deal that marks one of the largest local land purchases by a home builder so far this year.

The Miami-based builder plans to construct a yet-unnamed neighborhood of single-family homes, despite a glut of existing homes and unsettled economic concerns. Bob Hilliard, division president, called the move a “good tactic in a recessionary market.”

He added that Lennar has made contrarian investments before in Charleston.

“We were buying land in 2009, and we feel like the market has done nothing but improve,” Hilliard said.

The Cane Bay neighborhood near the Carnes Crossroads area of Berkeley County currently has three distinct residential areas — Old Rice Retreat, Sanctuary Cove and Del Webb — which combine to hold about 575 owner-occupied homes.

Lennar plans to build another roughly 500 homes on its newly acquired land, starting late next year.

Once completed, Cane Bay could hold up to 10,000 homes.

Cane Bay’s developer, Charleston-based Gramling Brothers Real Estate and Development, sold the land to Lennar. A Gramling representative and Hilliard declined to disclose the price.

New home construction activity in the Charleston region has been concentrated in a handful of markets, according to William Lattimore III of Georgia-based Coastal Market Graphics, which tracks local development. Moncks Corner and Goose Creek were the most active locations in recent months, he said.

Deep-pocketed national home builders such as Lennar are driving the new development, he added.

“They have the capital to acquire existing subdivisions but also groups of developed lots, and they can build at a lower price point,” he said.