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$500 Million Everglades Deal Postponed Again

Eric OKeefe — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:54:20 +0000

Florida Gov. Charlie Christ is getting a lesson that real estate brokers know all too well: big deals take time.

It’s been almost two years since Christ announced the $1.75 billion purchase of 187,000 acres in the Florida Everglades from United States Sugar. Since then the economy has tanked and the purchase price has been lowered twice: to $1.34 billion and now $536 million. In each instance, the number of acres has also fallen: first, to 180,000, and, in the most recent iteration, to 72,500. Faced with a March 30 deadline, the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District voted 9-0 to extend the closing for another six months.

An added element to the high-profile transaction was an in-depth front-page story in The New York Times last week that questioned many deal points, including the cost per acre, which The Times suggested is much too high, the tracts themselves, which The Times suggested include some of the least valuable belonging to U.S. Sugar, and the purpose of buying six separate tracts without reaching out to Florida Crystals, United States Sugar’s chief competitor and the owner of key blocks of adjacent land.

But the principle focus of the article was how Gov. Christ’s plan to save the Everglades will instead rescue United States Sugar. Since its publication, supporters and detractors have descended upon the media with their own interpretations of the deal.

Read more from a gubernatorial candidate who opposes the purchase HERE.

Read more about environmentalists who support the purchase HERE.

Heath Shuler: Eye on the Prize

Land Report Editors — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:42:05 +0000

Growing up in the 1970s, Heath Shuler saw quail hunting disappear from the mountains of his native North Carolina. “It occurred to me early on that if I wanted to hunt quail, I might have to buy property with good habitat,” he says.

Nowadays, that’s no small feat, especially in the Southeast where bobwhite populations have been declining for the past half-century due to changing land use. But Heath Shuler has never been a man of modest goals.

BY HENRY CHAPPELL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMBER HUMPHRIES & GRETA REYNOLDS
PUBLISHED SUMMER 2009

After a record-setting career as quarterback at the University of Tennessee, a second-place finish in 1993 Heisman Trophy voting, and several years in the NFL, he founded Heath Shuler Realty and grew it into one of the largest independent real estate firms in the South. Naturally, he kept an eye out for the best hunting and fishing properties.

“I’ve always wanted to invest in and be involved with property with excellent wildlife habitat,” he says. “That’s very important to me.”

But it was his career as a football star that led him to his dream property. Several years ago, at the annual Quail Unlimited Celebrity Quail Hunt, Rocky Evans, the organization’s longtime president, told him about a prime quail plantation in South Georgia. In 2003, with the money from the sale of a Knoxville property, he bought a stake in Wynfield Plantation (www.wynfieldplantation.com) in the storied quail country near Albany.

One of only 24 Orvis Endorsed Wingshooting lodges, Wynfield was named the plantation Wingshooting Lodge of the Year in 2005. October through March, Wynfield welcomes quail hunters, their families, and hunting dogs to some of the South’s best quail hunting, sporting clays, dining, and accommodations.

Now imagine the scene: A classy brace of English setters, high on both ends, locked up tight on a covey of bobwhites amid the pines and knee-high sedge. A pair of hunters approach, one with a Labrador retriever at heel. They position themselves for clear shots, and the dog handler sends his Lab in for the flush. The birds whir out the grass, boring away toward the nearest escape cover, trying to put trees between themselves and the hunters. All the while, the setters remain steady. The guns thump four times; four birds fall.

Having stopped at the flush, the Lab marks two of the downed birds. On command, she fetches them both, sitting to deliver. With the “dead bird!” command, the setters snort up the other two birds and bring them to hand before being cast in search of another covey.

A passage from a Nash Buckingham story? Actually, similar scenes play out nearly every fall and winter day at Wynfield Plantation. Heath is serious about his dogs and shooting.

“I started out as a kid hunting squirrels on those steep ridges around home,” he says. “As soon as I got big enough, I graduated to what I consider to be the most challenging game bird in the world – the ruffed grouse. A dog that can handle grouse can handle anything.”

Later, when he wasn’t playing football or closing real estate deals, Heath worked his Labs at the highest levels of amateur field trail competition and field testing. Several of his dogs achieved Master Hunter level in the American Kennel Club testing program.

In 2006, Heath’s schedule went from full to packed when he defeated an eight-term incumbent Republican to win a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected by a landslide in 2008. He’s a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of moderate and conservative House Democrats. His district covers most of his home region in the mountains of Western North Carolina. As Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship, and Trade, he sponsored and shepherded into law the Small Energy Efficient Business Act, which stimulates growth in alternative energy markets by increasing investment in small producers. True to his conservationist sensibilities, he sponsored legislation aimed at developing biomass and carbon trading markets for private forest owners, and he continues to work closely with the Environmental Protection Agency on the assessment and cleanup of a large, contaminated former electronics manufacturing site that threatens water supplies in his home district. He takes stewardship and roots very seriously.

In 2007, realizing that he simply didn’t have time to be involved in the plantation’s day-to-day business, Heath hired his longtime friend Mike Osteen, a veteran professional dog trainer, as general manager and head trainer.

At Wynfield Plantation, Mike and two other trainers work a kennel of English pointers, English Setters, German shorthaired pointers, English cocker spaniels, springer spaniels, Brittanies, and Labrador retrievers. The staff also takes on a limited number of outside dogs for training. Most years, the Wynfield kennel produces several litters of puppies out of championship bloodlines. A few of these pups are chosen to replenish the kennel. The rest are offered for sale. Mike considers, Labs, English setters, and English cockers kennel specialties. Wynfield is a member of the Orvis-Endorsed Breeding and Training program.

Wynfield shooting dogs learn their trade in some of the best quail habitat in the Deep South – nearly 1,900 acres of open longleaf pine uplands and classic Southern bottomland with Spanish moss-draped live oaks. The staff controls encroaching brush and stimulates growth of forbs and legumes through prescribed burning, which mimics the natural, cleansing fires that maintained the open, grassy longleaf ecosystem prior to settlement.

Heath and his guests do most of their hunting on foot, so Wynfield pointing dogs are bred and trained to hunt at medium range: 100 to 200 yards. However, Mike Osteen says that the dogs range as wide or as close as they need to. Mature dogs are steady to wing and shot, and spaniels and retrievers generally stay at heel until sent to flush or retrieve, although they’ll quarter within shotgun range when the situation calls for it.

“I love it when we have multiple birds down so that we can let the Labs and cockers practice blind retrieves,” Heath says. They’ll pick up the ones they mark, and then we’ll handle them to the others.

You read right. English cocker spaniels running blind retrieves: taking lines, sitting at the whistle, and responding to hand signals. Sure, you’d expect that from a decent Lab, but a cocker spaniel? Clearly we’re not talking about the typical neurotic, bug-eyed, coiffed American cocker or even the average working English cocker. This is high-end spaniel work.

But Wynfield welcomes all comers. “By all means, bring your own dogs,” Mike says. “Sure, we’ll provide guides and dogs, but real dog people want to hunt with their own dogs. If your dog has a few problems out in the field, we’ll make suggestions for fixing them, or, if you prefer, we’ll fix them for you. We customize the experience so that everyone feels comfortable.”

That same attitude extends to gunning as well. Wynfield gunsmiths and gun fitters custom build shotguns to individual specification or modify guests’ guns for better fit. Rental guns are also available for guests who chose not to bring a gun.

Heath’s wife, Nikol, though not a hunter, enjoys shooting sporting clays on the Wynfield course. He and his eight year-old son, Navy, hunt with Mike Osteen and his sons, eleven-year-old Grant and nine-year-old John. This past quail season, Navy shot his first quail on the rise. “He’d been watching the older boys and was waiting for his chance,” Heath says. His first bird, on the wing, over a good dog, is a huge deal. Now he’s hooked. He’s a hunter for life.”

Ultimately, Heath’s relationship with his land is about creating memories. “Nowadays, my kids get all excited about staying in ‘their cabin,’ or sleeping in ‘their bunk.’ My four year-old daughter, Island, fishes in the lake and gets to ride on the four wheeler.”

“For Heath, the dog training and hunting really serve as an escape from the pressures of Washington and the demands of his business, and gives him a chance to spend time with his family,” Mike says. “I’ve known Heath for a long time, and he’s more mesmerized by this place than by anything else he’s experienced.

Considering Heath Shuler’s experiences so far, that’s saying something.

Duke Energy Makes Major Investment in GreenTrees

Eddie Lee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:10:58 +0000

Duke Energy has become the lead investor in GreenTrees, a privately managed forest restoration program created and managed by C2I for landowners in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley: Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

This enormous valley once held 24.7 million acres of forest and emergent wetlands. Today more than 18 million acres – or 80 percent – has been cleared, resulting in the loss of critical natural habitat.

The program is expected to generate high-quality, verifiable carbon offsets that Duke believes will help reduce the overall cost of compliance with federal climate change legislation. Duke’s initial investment will result in the planting of more than 1 million trees on approximately 1,700 acres in Arkansas.

GreenTrees is designed to create, enhance, and sustain conservation and wildlife benefits from afforestation. GreenTrees provides landowners the most economic and environmental value for each acre of trees planted. The program utilizes a specific inter-planting of 302 cottonwoods plus 302 mixed hardwoods per acre. The specific design of 302/302 delivers more conservation value, more carbon, and better sustainable hardwood revenues than a previous design of 302 cottonwood and 151 hardwoods.

In exchange for the landowners’ long-term lease to prevent reversibility, GreenTrees offers a variety of short and long-term income opportunities. Landowners can simultaneously enroll the same qualified acres into GreenTrees, CRP, and other conservation practices, thus receiving multiple financial incentives and incomes together.

GreenTrees was founded by Izaak Walton League of America board member Carey Crane and Texaco Chevron Conservation Award recipient Chandler Van Voorhis. Both men have received great inspiration from Crane’s mother, Maggie Bryant. Bryant is a past-two term Chairperson of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and retired from her board position in 2001. She has been awarded the prestigious Chevron Conservation Award as well as the Governor’s Award for Conservation in Mississippi, and she continues to be active in conservation measures around the world.

Landowners are enthusiastic about GreenTrees. Arkansas landowner Brandon Stafford is a recent enrollee. Stafford found himself with 210 acres of un-irrigated farmland that he had to do something with. He enrolled it in CRP and GreenTrees. After the initial planting and subsequent sprayings Brandon says, “It’s amazing what the trees are doing.” The CRP and GreenTrees programs work in concert for him. Currently over 2,500 acres from 20 landowners are enrolled in the program.

To learn more about GreenTrees, visit their website: www.green-trees.com.

Crescent Resources Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

Eric OKeefe — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:41:57 +0000

Charlotte-based Crescent Resources filed for bankruptcy protection in Austin on June 10 listing assets and liabilities in excess of $1 billion. Founded in 1969, the developer is owned by Duke Energy and Morgan Stanley’s real-estate fund unit and has interests in 35 residential and commercial projects in 10 states, including country-club communities, mixed-use developments, and Class A office space in the Southeast and Southwest.

Crescent lost $420 million in 2008, according to the Charlotte Observer, and will seek protection from as many as 10,000 creditors.

The company issued the following press release at its website:

Crescent Resources announced that, as part of its ongoing strategy to reduce the company’s debt level and improve its capital structure, Crescent Resources, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Western District of Texas, Austin Division.

The company intends to operate its continuing businesses without any significant interruption during the restructuring process. In addition, the company has obtained a Debtor-in-Possession financing facility of $110 million from a group of its existing lenders, which will provide sufficient funds to operate its ongoing business activities.

Crescent also announced today that Arthur Fields, chief executive officer of Crescent Resources, has retired from the company and will continue to work with the company in an advisory capacity. Effective immediately, Andrew Hede, Crescent’s chief restructuring officer, will also serve as chief executive officer. Mr. Hede, a managing director with Alvarez & Marsal North America, LLC, has more than 15 years of financial restructuring and business experience. Mr. Hede has worked with numerous companies, including national and regional homebuilders and real estate developers, to develop and implement financial and operational restructurings and recapitalization strategies.

“We have been in active discussions with our lenders and other stakeholders as we work towards an agreement that will bring our capital structure in line with the current economic environment,” said Andrew Hede. “Those discussions are continuing, and we are pleased with the ongoing support we have received from our lenders. We believe this process will lead to a stronger financial foundation for the company and its stakeholders and that it will better position us to serve our customers and partners over the longer term.

“Despite the unprecedented challenges facing the real estate industry, we believe Crescent’s underlying business model is solid, and our assets remain very attractive. We are encouraged that our lenders have agreed to provide additional funding to support our continued operations and allow us to maintain the high level of service and amenities our customers have come to expect. We intend to reach an agreement on our new capital structure and emerge from bankruptcy quickly,” Hede continued.“

On behalf of the Board and all the employees of Crescent, I would like to thank Art for his tremendous service to Crescent and the entire real estate industry over his long and successful career,” continued Mr. Hede. “He was instrumental in building Crescent into one of the leading real estate development companies in the country, and we are pleased that he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company.”

“Crescent Resources has the best assets and more importantly the most dedicated and passionate employees in the industry. I am confident that this restructuring will position the company better for the future,” said Mr. Fields. “It has been a privilege to work with such a talented team. I can move on secure in the knowledge that Crescent will build on its track record as one of the leaders in the real estate industry.”

As part of its Chapter 11 filing, the company is seeking Court approval to make certain payments and to maintain key agreements with employees, customers, vendors and partners of continuing operations to ensure the company can maintain its commitment to delivering a high level of amenities and services.

About Crescent Resources

Crescent Resources, LLC, is a land management and real estate development company with interests in 10 states in the southeastern and southwestern United States. Based in Charlotte, Crescent Resources is a joint venture between Duke Energy and Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund. Established in 1969, Crescent creates mixed-use developments, award-winning country club communities, single-family neighborhoods, apartment and condominium communities, Class A office space, business and industrial parks and shopping centers. Visit www.crescent-resources.com for more information.

Read the complete announcement at the Crescent Resources website, June 10, 2009.

Sold! “Nicest Lakefront Property in East Tennessee”

Grant Gannon — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:00:37 +0000

Update: According to Chip Miller of NAI Knoxville, the Fort Loudon Lake property sold Saturday morning for $26.5 million to Bryan Testerman of Testerman Construction. That’s $54,000 per acre. Additional details to follow.

Original Post: Nearly 500 acres just outside Knoxville on Tennessee’s Fort Loudon Lake is up for absolute auction this weekend. As long as someone shows up with the $100,000 cashiers check required to bid, there will be a new owner for what tax rolls call the Al Kraemer Farm.

This pristine piece of farmland sits on a peninsula overlooking the popular lake, which sees an estimated two million visitors per year. There are three buildings on the farm. One dates back to 1910, but a newer 3,700-square-foot residence was built in 1983 and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The structures are irrelevant, however; the land is prime for development.

“It is the nicest piece of lakefront property in East Tennessee,” says Chip Miller of NAI Knoxville. “It’s in one of the highest growth areas and the demographics of the surrounding area are great.” Miller says he expects “only a handful” of people to make bids on the property. Will the land be sold for development? “Most certainly,” Miller said. The price though is the biggest question mark.

“It could go for $10 million or $40 million. It’s arguably worth $40 million,” Miller said, which equates to roughly $80,000 an acre.

Florida: “It’s Almost Like a Fire Sale”

Grant Gannon — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:10:45 +0000

A University of Florida study has put a staggering number on just how badly the economic crisis has impacted rural land values in the Sunshine State. The study concludes that land values plummeted upwards of 55 percent in 2008 from highs just one year previously.

The study focused exclusively on rural land, mostly those outside of urban areas that would have been hot spots for development just prior to the worldwide economic collapse.

“In some cases, it’s almost like a fire sale,” said Rodney Clouser, the UF professor of food and resource economics who led the survey.

The study found the northern part of the state most affected with values dropping the aforementioned 55 percent.

Farmland, that which traditionally would be the main focus of The Land Report readers, saw declines that reached as much as 26 percent.

What’s worse is the predicted continued decline in 2009.

Land prices are expected to continue their drop through 2009 — although not as dramatically as in 2008. Survey responses from individuals involved in the Florida real estate market predict an overall drop between 5 and 17 percent.

The full UF report is available here.

Billion-Dollar Everglades Sale Drastically Downsized

Eric OKeefe — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 07:00:48 +0000

Florida’s ambitious Everglades restoration plan has been drastically scaled back, a victim of the economic recession. Originally slated to be a 187,000-acre, $1.75 billion deal when announced in June 2008, the deal has gone back to the drawing board on two occasions. On Wednesday, April 1, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ announced the most recent revision of the ambitious plan: $533 million for 72,500 acres of citrus and sugar cane fields that presently belong to U.S. Sugar.

Read more at:
“Crist Announces Scaled-Back U.S. Sugar Land Deal,” The News-Press, April 1, 2009.

IP to Divest 143,000 Acres in Southeast

Eric OKeefe — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:34:05 +0000

International Paper announced on March 2 that it plans to sell off 143,000 acres in the Southeastern U.S. in a transaction valued at approximately $275 million.

IP will sell 114,000 acres to American Timberlands Fund I, L.P., for $220 million in cash and contribute 29,000 acres with a value of $55 million for a 20 percent stake in the partnership. The transaction is expected to close in mid-June.

Read International Paper’s press release.

Behind the Woodshed: TVA

Eric OKeefe — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:00:49 +0000

OK, let’s face facts. When it comes to bad neighbors, there are horror stories and then there’s TVA. What these guys have done make a crooked fenceline or stray livestock look like the county fair. Can anyone imagine what it must be like to have 1 billion gallons of coal ash sludge running loose on their property? I can’t, but there are plenty of people in Roane County downriver from TVA’s Kingston Steam Plant who can. And they filed a $165 million suit to prove it. Here’s the AP story:

A group of land owners sued the Tennessee Valley Authority for $165 million on Tuesday over a dike burst that spilled more than a billion gallons of coal ash sludge.

The six-page lawsuit was filed in state court by Jot and Brenda Raymond, owners and developers of North Lake Estates in eastern Tennessee’s Roane County.

It claims a creek running through the development has been damaged and is backed up as a result of the Dec. 22 spill from a power plant.

The Raymonds said in the suit that they can’t show prospective buyers their property, which they describe as suffering “significant and immediate damage” to its value.

Also named as plaintiffs are Lea Ann Raymond and Chris Raymond, who own property in the subdivision. The lawsuit doesn’t say if the four plaintiffs are related.

TVA spokesman John Moulton declined to comment saying the federal utility hadn’t yet reviewed the lawsuit.

“Normally we respond through the courts,” he said.

The ash sludge from the storage pond at TVA’s Kingston Steam Plant spilled over roughly 300 acres and into the Emory River.

The North Lake Estates subdivision is near but not inside the area that has been closed off because of the ash sludge.

A sign at the development says lot prices start at $20,000. No sludge was apparent from the subdivision road on Tuesday, but the creek at the back of the development wasn’t visible.

“TVA possessed or reasonably should have possessed knowledge and data which indicated the retention pond was subject to collapse or breach,” the lawsuit says.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment on the lawsuit.

TVA, its board of directors, President and CEO Tom Kilgore and other TVA executives are named as defendants. The suit asks for $15 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages.

The nonprofit Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said it also notified TVA on Tuesday that it intends to sue under the federal Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

TVA has said it is investigating what caused the dike to fail and has speculated that cold weather and heavy rainfall were factors.

The deluge destroyed three houses, displaced a dozen families and damaged 42 parcels of land, but there were no serious injuries.

TVA has begun cleaning up the sludge and taking air, soil and water samples because of potentially hazardous materials in the fly ash, the waste from burning coal to produce electricity.

Federal officials have cautioned residents who use private wells or springs to stop drinking the water pending more tests because of high levels of arsenic.

Samples taken near the spill slightly exceed drinking water standards for toxic substances, and arsenic in one sample was higher than the maximum level allowed for drinking water, authorities said.

Officials also are concerned about air quality as the sludge containing the fly ash, a fine powdery material, dries out. The dust can contain metals, including arsenic, that can irritate the skin and aggravate pre-existing conditions like asthma.

A large pile of ash still at the power plant may be covered with mulch or a calcium carbonate spray that would dry like a thin cap of concrete and prevent it from blowing away, Neil Carriker, an environmental official with TVA, said Tuesday.

Knoxville-based TVA supplies electricity to Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.

U.S. Sugar Approves Sale of 180,000 Acres in the Everglades for $1.34 Billion

Eric OKeefe — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:00:28 +0000

Today U.S. Sugar announced that its board of directors had approved the sale/leaseback of 180,000 acres to the South Florida Water Management District for $1.34 billion ($7,444 per acre). The transaction ranks as one of the largest of 2008 and is the culmination of intense negotiations between the privately held company and the water district that will create a natural flow of water between Lake Okeechobee and the southern Everglades. The complete press release from U.S. Sugar follows..

Clewiston, FL — December 8, 2008 — U.S. Sugar Corporation announced that its Board of Directors today approved the contract to sell approximately 180,000 acres of its real estate assets to the South Florida Water Management District.

“After many months of negotiations and careful deliberation, the U.S. Sugar Board of Directors has approved the contract to sell its real estate assets to the South Florida Water Management District for $1.34 billion and retain the right to lease the property for seven crops,” said Robert Coker, senior vice president, public affairs.

“The terms of the deal have been approved today by our Board and the contract has been signed and delivered to the South Florida Water Management District,” Coker said.

“This is a milestone in this historic transaction,” Coker said, “and one that we hope will provide certainty to many of the stakeholders. We are hopeful that the Governing Board of the South Florida Water Management District will take up and approve the contract early next week, bringing Governor Crist’s bold plans for Everglades restoration to fruition.”

In accordance with Delaware law, BMO Capital Markets will have a period of two months to shop the Company and give other interested purchasers a chance to make a better offer. This includes the Lawrence Group, which has not made a formal offer, but has indicated interest in the company through an aggressive media campaign.

Also approved by the U.S. Sugar Board today was a comprehensive severance package for both hourly and salaried employees. The package provides one year’s salary for all hourly employees and two years’ salary for all salaried employees – to be paid if the Company is forced to shut down at the end of seven crops.

Coker said, “Hopefully this safety net will not be needed.”