Oil giant Exxon Corp. has decided to exit the real estate business to concentrate on energy. The Irving, Texas-based company said it is putting its Friendswood Development Co. up for sale.
Friendswood is one of the Houston area’s largest developers and home builders. The 33-year-old company specializes in development of “master- planned communities such as the 10,000-acre Clear Lake City project in southeast Houston, and the 50,000-acre Kingwood community near Houston.
Some of the land the company has developed was originally acquired for oil and gas exploration.
Exxon said the sale is part of a long-running plan to get out of nonenergy businesses.
“Friendswood’s performance has been financially and operationally successful, and it ranks as a leader in the national real estate industry,” C.C. Tatkon, senior vice president of Exxon Co. U.S.A, said in the announcement. “We believe it will be highly valued as an ongoing business by potential buyers whose interests are more closely aligned with the real estate business.”
Exxon has hired Morgan Stanley Group Inc. to solicit purchase offers.
Some of the potential buyers who have been mentioned for all or part of Friendswood’s holdings include Fort Worth investor Richard Rainwater and Ross Perot Jr.’s Hillwood Investments Inc.
Renovation at hand
A group of Charlotte, N.C., investors has bought the Cobb House, a 43-year-old downtown apartment building and one of Rock Hill’s tallest buildings, and has plans to renovate the structure.
Cobb House Partners paid $590,000 to Park Communications Inc. for the land and eight-story structure at 366 E. Main St., according to county records.
Sources in the community said the group, whose members weren’t identified, also plans to spend an additional $500,000 to refurbish the building.
The 34,000-square-foot building, erected in 1952, has 50 apartment units, including two penthouse apartments, and more than 2,000 square feet of street-level shops. It is built on less than half an acre and has about 20 parking spaces.
The deal to buy and renovate Cobb House was put together by D. Jean Paterson of First Meridian Development Group of Charlotte.
Gators welcome
Caged alligators are authorized in North Myrtle Beach, the City Council decided Monday night.
The council gave final approval to a zoning change allowing Barefoot Landing developers to build an alligator park and research center in the city.
The park already was under construction before the council’s decision. Barefoot Landing Managing Partner Ronnie Felts said he plans to open the park to the public shortly.
Developers of the park said they planned to give visitors a glimpse of how wild alligators live, as well as educating visitors about alligators and other crocodilians.
More than 200 alligators will call the park on U.S. 17 north of Barefoot Landing home. Most of the alligators will come from Florida, park Director Sam Seashole said.
New ownership
American Realty Trust, a Dallas real estate investment trust, has purchased land to become one of the largest owners in the Las Colinas’ high- rise Urban Center complex.
The 7-year-old investment company set up by former Southmark Corp. chairman Gene Phillips bought four tracts of land totaling 74 acres that will be marketed for development of office buildings, hotels and shopping centers.
Outside capital
A $97 million amusement park that is opening near Denver, once billed as using only Colorado money, is seeking $28 million in long-term financing from the French bank that helped build Euro Disney.
Elitch’s, a Denver institution for more than a century, is set to open its new 58-acre amusement park in the Central Platte Valley on May 27. The proposed loan would not affect the opening date.
Elitch’s, however, has long been seeking a loan to refinance its $28 million, one-year construction loan from Bank One of Colorado.
Banque Nationale de Paris, the publicly traded French bank with operations in the United States, has “been asked to consider long-term financing for the project,” said Naomi Nakagama, a BNP vice president in Los Angeles. “The transaction has not been finalized.”
Elitch’s has struggled to get its financing in place amid intense civic boosterism for the project.
The city of Denver has helped commit millions of dollars to the project. The city put $14 million from bond sales toward site development, including public streets and flood-plain remediation.
Seeking a site
Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear International Inc. said it is shopping for land in Dallas northern suburbs with plans to develop a large country club and residential community.
The project which would include recreational facilities and more than 800 homes would be the second of a series of Golden Bear Communities that the pro golfer plans in several U.S. cities.
“Dallas is a market we want to be in,” said Ira Fenton, president of Golden Bear Financial Services, which is developing the golf course communities. “It’s just a matter of finding the right piece of land.”
Golden Bear is also looking at Chicago for a potential development, officials with the company said. Construction is already under way in suburban Atlanta on the first Golden Bear project, called Laurel Springs.
Bankruptcy filing
Bramalea California Inc., one of the state’s largest homebuilders, filed for bankruptcy, saying it would sell its remaining assets and go out of business.
The Newport Beach, Calif.-based builder blamed the bankruptcy on the financial problems of its parent, Toronto-based Bramalea Inc., which has floundered under heavy debt and a slow real estate market.
