Passco Cos. has demonstrated its renewed focus on land development by hiring industry veteran Scott Allen as president of Passco Cos. Development LLC. According to Bill Passo, CEO and founder of Passco Cos., Allen will be actively pursuing land acquisition in Southern California, targeting available land at purchase prices between $1 million and $20 million.
Passo adds that Allen will spearhead land-acquisition efforts for the firm and drive new land projects forward. He will also oversee all of the development firm’s current land holdings and will manage future land sales.
“The opportunity to create value by acquiring raw land and pursuing entitlements has returned,” says Passo. “We expect land development to be an extremely active sector of the real estate market for the next three to five years.
He adds that the firm recognizes that the market is shifting once again. “By renewing our focus on land development now, we will be at the forefront of the next market cycle, allowing us to create substantial value for our investors.”
Allen was most recently with Tava Development Co., where he served as president. In this role, he oversaw all business operations for the company, which developed land for the homebuilding industry and invested in residential and industrial real estate. Prior to his tenure with Tava, Allen served as division president of the Southern California division of Meritage Homes, formerly Citation Homes.
Allen tells GlobeSt.com that now is a good time to buy land for development in Southern California because, as the economy continues to recover, his firm sees opportunities for more growth, particularly in residential development. “Since there hasn’t been much activity for new entitlements over the last five to seven years, we should now see a demand for newly entitled land as well.”
He adds that Passco is focusing primarily on the Inland Empire market, as well as for-sale residential land throughout Southern California. “We will be searching for new properties that are in the path of development. We’re hopeful to have three to five properties under contract by the end of 2014 and then to continue that growth moving forward.”
As GlobeSt.com reported in September, Passo told us in a video interview at the ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego that to gain an edge over e-commerce, stores need to offer experiences that consumers can’t get from the Internet.
This article was originally published on GlobeSt.com.
