the demand for real estate has decreased dramatically,
and it is suddenly a buyer’s market.
“We’re literally getting calls every day, around the
country, from developers who have properties they
want to sell, often at huge discounts,” says Tim Ahern,
TPL’s senior director of media relations.
Local developers are particularly anxious to sell
because they have had poor lot sales and their loans are
coming due. “Local developers tend to be more reliant
on projects that have specific funding, unlike big
national developers, who tend to rely more on long-term corporate debt,” says Bowen Blair, TPL senior
vice president and director of conservation transactions.
But large national developers are not immune to
market tides, either, Blair says. “Time after time, we’re
seeing developers selling land for thirty cents on the
dollar compared with what they paid for the property.
There are incredible opportunities out there if you can
position yourself to take advantage of them.”
For example, in suburban Portland, Oregon, TPL
recently was able to purchase environmentally sensitive
land along the Tualatin River for the Tualatin Hills Park
and Recreation District after its value dropped by nearly a third. Before the downturn, the 2.9-acre, 12-lot
subdivision was appraised at $1.5 million. In December,
TPL conserved the land for a little more than $1 million.
And in Florida—a hotbed of the recent real
estate boom that is suffering commensurately in the
bust—TPL was able to purchase for $4.4 million a
three-acre New Smyrna Beach tract that had been
valued at $6.2 million as recently as 2005. The seller
had planned to build 20 condos on the property. Now
it will be a city park.
A LOCAL DEMAND FOR CONSERVATION
In spite of bleak economic news, public support for
conservation remains high. In the November 2008
election, 71 percent of conservation initiatives passed,
generating $7.3 billion for conservation, a one-day
record. Some of the measures will protect water quality;
others will preserve local lands.
Some of last year’s conservation victories were staggeringly one-sided. For example, in Windsor Locks,
Connecticut—a working-class town north of
Hartford—nearly 90 percent of voters approved the
Recessions can create great bargains and conser-
vation opportunities—if money can be found to
complete the efforts.
expenditure of $2.16 million to protect 224 acres of
watershed land, the last parcel of open space in town.
“It just goes to show that people are not willing to
compromise when it comes to the environment,” says
Cook. Voters have demonstrated that they understand
the tangible community benefits of these measures,
such as protecting play areas for children and scenic
views, reducing traffic congestion, and generally creating a better quality of life.
“People are better educated and better organized
around these issues than they were in the past,” notes
Bowen Blair. “They see that parks are not so much a
luxury as an essential part of the infrastructure. They have
definitive economic, social, and conservation benefits.”
Moreover, a lot of these local measures don’t cost
much per household, usually between $8 and $50 annually.
“It’s a very good investment,” says Cook. “Although land
values are dropping right now in many places across the
country, they’ll go up again. In twenty-five years, when
we’re looking back on this time, the prices we paid will
look like a bargain, and I think the average voter gets that.
Conserving land is a fundamental value that Americans
share, and it doesn’t blow with the wind.”
DARCYKIEFEL
TPL was able to acquire a parcel for the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation
District, Oregon, after the land’s value dropped by nearly a third.
