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A 505-acre piece of property known as Higgins Ranch is seen in this aerial photo. The two developers who owned the property near Lake Camanche had planned to build a 600-unit housing development on the site. Since the housing market tanked, however, the owners have filed for bankruptcy and the property will be put up for auction. (Courtesy photo)
Failed Wallace development site for sale — again
If you drive east from Lodi along Highway 12, the retail stores quickly disappear, giving way to vineyards and some scattered homes.
Pass the town of Lockeford, and the even smaller town of Clements, as gently rolling hills come into view.
About 19 miles east of Lodi, on the south side of Highway 12 near Lake Camanche, you'll reach a 505-acre piece of property known as Higgins Ranch, with the Tuolumne Aqueduct running through it.
Until the economy took a nosedive, this was the future site of a 600-house development. It was going to change the town of Wallace.
Then the market dropped.
The two developers who owned the property each filed for bankruptcy in 2008, with one of them reportedly owing various banks more than $972 million.
Now Higgins Ranch is up for auction, with a minimum price of $750,000. It's a far cry from the $3.2 million the developers had briefly sought when they placed it on the market. The amount is also less than the reserve in a spring auction, when nobody bought it for the minimum price of a little less than $1.2 million.
Higgins Ranch is currently leased to a dairy farmer and is making $841 a month, and the auction company is optimistic. They're sending out glossy brochures advertising the property, along with a number of other pieces of land in northern California and Oregon. They even have a sample plan for Higgins Ranch, including horse trails and a suggested spot for a large ranch-style home.
"We're finding that there are investors out there with cash and looking for a good deal," said John Rosenthal, president of Realty Marketing/Northwest, based in Portland, Ore.
For the residents of Wallace, the auction is just the latest twist in a long, drawn-out saga involving debates about sewer upgrades, housing plans and environmental reports.
"Higgins Ranch would best be described as a gleam in someone's eye," said Chuck Cantoni, a long-time member of the Wallace Community Services District.
Development company Reynen & Bardis had been in negotiations for the project, which included extensive sewer system upgrades for Wallace. But first they planned to develop a couple smaller areas first, Cantoni said. That didn't happen either.
Instead, both John D. Reynen and Christo Bardis filed for personal bankruptcy. Both are attorneys, though Reynen hasn't been licensed to practice in California since 1999, when he stopped paying his bar dues, according to the California State Bar Association.
As the economy dropped, the developers faced a number of troubles, including lawsuits over structural problems. In August, several dozen Rancho Murieta homeowners settled with Reynen & Bardis, as well as an engineering firm, because their homes had developed cracked walls and foundations due to the soft ground on which they were built.
And then there are the bankruptcy matters. The Chapter 11 filings appear to be drawing to a close, according to voluminous federal court filings. How much of Reynen's $972 million will be repaid to banks and others isn't clear, though his attorney alone wants $418,158 in fees.
Reynen was not in his Mather office and his assistant did not return a message.
The Higgins Ranch property was foreclosed and is now owned by Umpqua Bank, which is based in Oregon but also has a branch in Lodi.
Now buyers have until Nov. 18 to submit sealed bids for the reduced price. Rosenthal said there has been twice as much interest this time and that his firm has received "multiple offers," though he declined to give specific numbers of bids.
Bids will be opened after 5 p.m. the day the auctions close. If more than one buyer places a bid for the same highest prices, the auction company will contact them and ask for their best offer. If the highest offer is below the $750,000 asking price, it will be up to Umpqua Bank to accept or reject the offer, Rosenthal said.
Whether Higgins Ranch is ever developed or remains an open area is unknown. Just in case an ambitious buyer decides to continue the housing plan, Cantoni said the development remains in the sewer district's 15-year plan.
About the auction
Sealed bids are being accepted until 5 p.m. Nov. 18. The reserve price is $750,000, down from a previous asking price of $1,175,000.
To receive more information on the property, call (800) 845-3524 or go to www.rmnw auctions.com/0904/144.htm.
Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.
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edumacation wrote on Oct 29, 2009 9:26 PM:
These are the listed ones on the MLS today for lots zoned for residential
About another twenty lots also very pricy, are for sale in the vicinity of the Woodbridge sewage treatment plant. yummy--all those morsels?
The Acampo, Lockeford and Clements lots are starting to slowly move downward from the maniacal high prices of a few years ago. The profit on these lots is higher than any LEGAL crop you could grow. Many lots are also listed on Realtor.com and similar sites.
MLS 80075674 .027 acre $255,000
MLS 70107320 0.20 acre $249,950
MLS 80032820 0.24 acre $249,000
MLS 90021837 0.24 acre $235,000
MLS 90005856 0.12 acre $199,000
To find these lots on your own go to Metrolistmls.com, check off San Joaquin county and specify lots between 200-300 k. I only look at the residential lots for the obvious reasons, most have sewer hook ups and no septic tanks.
These lots are more expensive than it would cost to build a house on the same lot! Who ever thought Mc Mansions would pop up in Lodi? "
Observer wrote on Oct 29, 2009 5:54 PM:
dogs4you wrote on Oct 29, 2009 5:25 PM:
At the time the fire protection was one paid and the rest volunteers, if you had a fire, the best time would be after they all got home from work. We had Calaveras County Water District, the best water I ever tasted, good but very expensive.
The Gold Run Sub-division on Hwy. 26 is just like living in Lodi.
I haven`t heard about the Dept. of Ag mortage loan program, this country cannot stand another bubble to burst. We will be scrubbing Chinese toilets before you know it.
You asked what happened, in one word, greed. "
edumacation wrote on Oct 29, 2009 3:35 PM:
What ever happened to professionalism in real estate. Anyone--with third grade education would see NOTHING but trouble in this scenario.
BTW--have you heard the latest about new developments? They ha ve discovered that the US Department of Agriculture has a mortgage loan program. I see a huge bubble ready to burst.
Are you still In Valley Springs?
If you are, how is the fire protection district? "
edumacation wrote on Oct 29, 2009 3:27 PM:
Presently there are dozens of lots for sale at 2005 peak prices. The Realtors/developers won't budge a dime. The problem with vacant lots is that banks want cash---and I don't blame them. I think we should return to cash only deals on single fmaily residences that would stop the cheerleading that we hear that the unemployed are told that no money down and tons of debt will make them overnight millionaires.
The problem is that the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate industry has not elarned from the last bubble--that we are still in. "
dogs4you wrote on Oct 29, 2009 3:16 PM:
edumacation wrote on Oct 29, 2009 2:50 PM:
That means for the price of three 1/5 acre plots in Lodi, you could instead have 505 acres of land without the "Benedetti park" dust storm.
My calculations show that local developers want the same amount for $750,000 for 3/5 of an acre! I had no idea it cost that much to put in a street and utilities!
That goes to show you how much these developers have been getting for these small plots of dirt.
At the same rate for 505 acres at 4 houses per acre, we would have a value of over one half billion dollars! But they originally only wanted only $3.2 million.
Divide 505 acres into four homesites per acre including land for streets. (In Lodi its about 8 homesites per acre). This equals 2020 homesites.
The price per 1/4 acre lots in Higgins Ranch comes to $371 dollars per lot!@! "
dogs4you wrote on Oct 29, 2009 12:36 PM:
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