HORSHAM, Pa., June 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL) (www.tollbrothers.com), the nation's leading builder of luxury homes, and Shea Baker Ranch LLC, a member of the Shea family of companies (Shea), today announced a partnership to develop Baker Ranch, a master-planned community approved for over 2,000 new homes in Lake Forest, CA, one of south Orange County's most desirable markets.
Segmented into three villages, Baker Ranch will be comprised of approximately 1,780 single-family homes and up to 414 rental apartments. Designed to appeal to a variety of buyer profiles and price points, Baker Ranch will offer a broad range of product lines, including single-family attached, detached and multi-family homes. The anticipated site development of the first village will commence in the fall of 2012 with homes to be offered for sale in the spring of 2014.
Overall, the master plan contains approximately 40 acres of open space and recreation areas including an 8.4-acre central park, seven neighborhood parks, of which three are planned with private recreation clubs, and walkways and bicycle paths that will link all neighborhoods to the parks and recreation facilities. The City of Lake Forest is currently constructing a nearby community park and sports facility featuring up to 6 baseball/softball fields, 5 soccer fields, 6 hard courts for basketball or tennis, 2 large playgrounds and a 30,000 sq. ft. recreation center with a gymnasium and an attached amphitheater. The community is located in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD), which boasts some of Orange County's highest rated schools.
James Boyd, Toll Brothers' Regional President for California, stated: "We look forward to working hand-in-hand with Shea to develop Baker Ranch into one of Southern California's premiere master-planned communities. We are excited to continue to deliver the extraordinary homes that our buyers expect from the Toll Brothers brand."
Located immediately south of the Foothill Transportation Corridor, Baker Ranch is approximately 5 minutes from Irvine; 15 minutes from Laguna Beach; and 20 minutes from Newport Beach. The internationally-acclaimed Irvine Spectrum, home to over 130 retail stores, top-quality restaurants, and world-class entertainment venues, is just 10 minutes away.
Baker Ranch is the last significant portion of the roughly 5,000 acres of land acquired by the Baker and West families in the late 1950s, which has evolved into most of what is today's City of Lake Forest.
Douglas C. Yearley, Jr., Toll Brothers CEO, stated, "We are thrilled to be in partnership with Shea to develop this spectacular site, which is among the last remaining large properties in Orange County, one of the nation's premier markets in which to live and work. Together with Shea, we will create a wonderful place for residents of Southern California to enjoy the unique lifestyle of this special region.
"Our history of building homes and developing master-planned communities in Orange County dates back nearly twenty years. The size and scope of this community will ensure we are able to continue this tradition and serve our customers in this market for many years to come."
Toll Brothers, Inc. is the nation's leading builder of luxury homes. The Company began business in 1967 and became a public company in 1986. Its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TOL." The Company serves move-up, empty-nester, active-adult, and second-home buyers and operates in 20 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Toll Brothers builds an array of luxury residential communities, principally on land it develops and improves: single-family detached and attached home communities, master planned resort-style golf communities, and urban low-, mid- and high-rise communities. The Company operates its own architectural, engineering, mortgage, title, land development and land sale, golf course development and management, home security, and landscape subsidiaries. The Company also operates its own lumber distribution, house component assembly, and manufacturing operations. The Company acquires and develops commercial properties through Toll Commercial and its affiliate, Toll Brothers Realty Trust, and purchases distressed loan and real estate asset portfolios through its wholly owned subsidiary, Gibraltar Capital and Asset Management.
Toll Brothers is honored to have won the three most coveted awards in the homebuilding industry: America's Best Builder from the National Association of Home Builders, the National Housing Quality Award, and Builder of the Year. Toll Brothers proudly supports the communities in which it builds; among other philanthropic pursuits, the Company sponsors the Toll Brothers Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network, bringing Met opera to neighborhoods throughout the world. For more information, visit www.tollbrothers.com.
Certain information included in this release is forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, information related to: anticipated operating results; anticipated financial performance, resources and condition; selling communities; home deliveries; average home prices; consumer demand and confidence; contract pricing; business and investment opportunities; and market and industry trends.
Such forward-looking information involves important risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect actual results and cause them to differ materially from expectations expressed herein and in other Company reports, SEC filings, statements and presentations. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: local, regional, national and international economic conditions; fluctuating consumer demand and confidence; interest and unemployment rates; changes in sales conditions, including home prices, in the markets where we build homes; conditions in our newly entered markets and newly acquired operations; the competitive environment in which we operate; the availability and cost of land for future growth; conditions that could result in inventory write-downs or write-downs associated with investments in unconsolidated entities; the ability to recover our deferred tax assets; the availability of capital; uncertainties in the capital and securities markets; liquidity in the credit markets; changes in tax laws and their interpretation; effects of governmental legislation and regulation; the outcome of various legal proceedings; the availability of adequate insurance at reasonable cost; the impact of construction defect, product liability and home warranty claims, including the adequacy of self-insurance accruals, and the applicability and sufficiency of our insurance coverage; the ability of customers to obtain financing for the purchase of homes; the ability of home buyers to sell their existing homes; the ability of the participants in various joint ventures to honor their commitments; the availability and cost of labor and building and construction materials; the cost of raw materials; construction delays; domestic and international political events; and weather conditions. For a more detailed discussion of these factors, see the information under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Any or all of the forward-looking statements included in this release are not guarantees of future performance and may turn out to be inaccurate. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.