Download Last Updated: April 4, 2014 Trumark Hires Veteran Developer for

Last Updated: April 4, 2014
Trumark Hires Veteran Developer for Land
Bids
By Carrie Rossenfeld | Orange County
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Furey has held management positions at three of the nation’s largest homebuilders.
NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Homebuilder Trumark Homeshas hired James Furey as VP of land
acquisition. Furey is a veteran developer who has held management positions at three of the
nation’s largest national homebuilders.
During his tenure with Meritage Homes, Richmond American Homes and Beazer Homes USA,
Furey has overseen land acquisition and disposition, entitlement processing,
land development and forward planning. Over the past decade, he has secured discretionary
entitlements for more than 1,000 residential units and participated in the acquisition and disposition
of more than 3,500 future residential units representing a residual land value in excess of $250
million.
According to Jason Kliewer, partner and general counsel for Trumark, “James is a versatile
manager who brings a wealth of experience in many elements of the homebuilding process. He will
be an invaluable asset as Trumark moves aggressively in the California market.”
As GlobeSt.com reported in February, Trumark Homes plans to develop a master-planned
community of eight subdivisions with 805 luxury homes on a 184-acre hilly piece of land in East
Dublin, CA, known as Wallis Ranch. Groundbreaking for the project could begin in May, and local
media reports indicate that the deal involves an investment of more than $175 million. The
development will take place as part of a joint venture with Isles Ranch Partners,
LLC andCastlelake LP, alternative investment firms. Wallis Ranch, one of the last remaining parcels
of fully entitled land in the Bay Area, according to Trumark, represents the most significant masterplanned single-family land transfer over the past year.
In addition, as GlobeSt.com reported in January 2013, Trumark Cos. made a major move into San
Francisco’s condominium market last year with the launch of Trumark Urban. The new division had
acquired six sites in the city’s urban core for mid- and high-rise condominium communities with plans
in the works for more than 500 for-sale units. The portfolio represented a commitment of investment
exceeding $300 million.
Land acquisition is a major issue for homebuilders in California. As Matt Zaist, president and COO
of William Lyon Homes, told GlobeSt.com earlier this week, getting land re-entitled in infill
settings in most cases takes more than two years, a process that involves getting through the
municipalities and local entities as well as the federal permitting required. “As the market has
recovered, builders are looking for infill situations, and finding a target site could be a two-year
process; then it could be north of three years to get the product into consumers’ hands.”
As a result, many public homebuilders are purchasing land from private builders who are having
difficulty obtaining necessary capital for their projects due to stricter lender underwriting. Accordiing
to Zaist, “As a public builder, with most of us being very well capitalized in terms of cash on hand, we
can tap public debt and raise capital quickly.”