Cliffs Communities Gets Help from Members in Unusual $62M Bond Deal
The Cliffs Communities will borrow at least $62 million from residents of the company’s luxury communities in the Carolinas to build golf courses and other amenities at the developments
Palm Coast, FL – April 19, 2010 – Cliffs Communities developer Jim Anthony puts together a creative bond deal with members from his eight developments in the Carolinas. Members will get 12% interest on the bonds. The funds will be utilized to complete amenities including the Tiger Woods designed golf course at Cliffs at High Carolina.
By Mark Barrett – April 17, 2010: Ashville Citizen Times
FAIRVIEW — The Cliffs Communities will borrow at least $62 million from residents of the company’s luxury communities in the Carolinas to build golf courses and other amenities at the developments.
The bond issue will help ensure completion of the Tiger Woods-designed golf course and a clubhouse at The Cliffs at High Carolina, which straddles a high ridge between Fairview and Swannanoa, and boost lot sales in the development, Cliffs President Jim Anthony said.
The course should be finished in spring 2012, he said.
Anthony and Steve Humphrey, a Cliffs resident who helped put the unusual deal together, made the announcement Friday on the High Carolina property. South Carolina-based Cliffs Communities has eight developments in North and South Carolina, including The Cliffs at Walnut Cove in Avery’s Creek.
Anthony said the bond issue will be a major boost for High Carolina because it will give people considering buying lots in the development confidence that the golf course and other amenities will be completed.
Toby’s Commentary: As the article points out, selling high-end amenity-rich communities into today’s market is an uphill struggle. But the willingness of club members to buy into the bond concept is a measure of how they feel about their community and about Jim Anthony. There aren’t many developers who could pull this off.
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