BLOWING ROCK
Laurelmor, the 6,000-acre luxury golf resort that collapsed under the bad economy and a massive loan, has been renamed Reynolds Blue Ridge by its new owners, who have announced scaled-back lot prices.
There are 179 original owners who bought lots in Laurelmor when developer Bobby Ginn promised what would have been the biggest, most expensive resort in Northwestern North Carolina. The average lot price was $625,000.
The prices on remaining home sites in the first phase of the development will range from $139,900 to $569,900, according to a letter sent to owners on Friday by the new development owner, Reynolds Signature Communities.
Toby Tobin, a Florida real-estate expert, where Ginn's companies are based, obtained a copy of the letter and published it on his Web site, www.GoToby.com.
"As we evaluated the 240 homesites remaining in Phase 1, it became clear that existing owners purchased a majority of the finest homesites in the community," wrote Terry Russell, the president of Reynolds Signature Communities. "Our new pricing takes into account view, size, and location of existing homesites, and contemplates competitor's offerings and the development status of Reynolds Blue Ridge versus some established communities that prospective buyers will compare to us."
Tobin said the new owners are trying to make the reduced lot prices more palatable to the people who took the initial risk and paid big money for lots, but that the reality is the developers have to reposition the development for it to move forward. The lots will sell for less, he said, and people will build less expensive houses.
"Unfortunately, that's what the market is right now," Tobin said. "The whole thing gets downsized."
Ginn-related companies that were developing Laurelmor defaulted last year on principal and interest payments on a $675 million credit facility (a type of loan) for Laurelmor and three other resorts.
Companies affiliated with Reynolds Signature Communities bought Laurelmor in December 2008. It is in Wilkes and Watauga counties.
A telephone recording at a former Laurelmor sales office in Blowing Rock now identifies the company as Reynolds Blue Ridge. Company officials could not be reached yesterday.
The letter to homeowners said that paving is complete on most of the roads in phase one, and that Rees Jones Golf is redesigning a golf course layout that will use several previously planned holes.
At a 2006 sales launch for Laurelmor, a helicopter thumped overhead for tours as potential buyers dined at a lavish buffet under huge banquet tents. People signed contracts for 240 lots, ranging in price from $450,000 to $1.2 million.
But many of the sales fell through. Final sales in Laurelmor never equaled the amount of lots people signed on to buy as Ginn whipped up excitement at that sales launch.
mmitchell@wsjournal.com | 336-667-5691
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