ACPT Announces Temporary Amendment of Sales Agreement With Lennar, and Agrees to Sell Interest in Joint Venture; Declares Divide
November 25 2008 - 11:37AM
PR Newswire (US)
ST. CHARLES, Md., Nov. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American
Community Properties Trust (NYSE Alternext US:APO) announced today
that it has reached agreement on a third amendment to the Company's
sales agreement with Lennar Corp., and has sold its interest in a
joint venture to the homebuilding company. The Company also
announced that its Board of Trustees authorized a cash dividend of
$0.10 per share on common shares outstanding. The dividend will be
payable on December 29, 2008 to shareholders of record on December
11, 2008. The dividend is required per the terms of the Company's
Declaration of Trust and represents 45% of estimated taxable income
passed through to the shareholders. Under the terms of the
amendment, Lennar agreed to (in summary): -- Purchase an additional
fifty lots in St. Charles' Fairway Village by December 31, 2008,
for a total of 119 lots sold to Lennar during 2008. The final sales
price will be an amount equal to 22.5% of the selling price of the
home constructed on the lot, but not less than $78,000 for a single
family lot, and $68,000 for a townhome lot. -- Purchase a minimum
of 100 lots a year in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The final sales price
will be an amount equal to 25% of the selling price of the home
constructed, with minimum pricing for single family and townhome
lots to increase each year based on the terms of the agreement. --
A pace of lot takedowns for each year of the agreement. In 2009,
Lennar must proceed to settlement on a minimum of forty lots
between January 1 and June 15, 2009, and purchase the balance of
the remaining number of lots by December 31, 2009. In 2010 and
again in 2011, Lennar must proceed to settlement on a minimum of
twenty-five lots by June 15, and must proceed to settlement on the
balance of the remaining number of lots by December 31 of the same
year. -- Allow the Company to sell additional lots in Fairway
Village to third-party homebuilders. "The Company values its
long-term business relationship with Lennar, and we are pleased
that they have renewed their commitment to continue to build
high-quality homes and townhomes in St. Charles," said Steve
Griessel, Chief Executive Officer. "At the same time, with this
amendment in place, the Company has begun to actively pursue
similar agreements with other builders, which will enable us to
provide a greater variety of styles and prices of homes offered in
our flagship planned community." Mr. Griessel also noted that the
Company remains committed to work proactively with Lennar and other
potential builders in St. Charles to develop a price point for new
homes and townhomes that will help increase the current pace of lot
sales. Mr. Griessel also announced that the Company sold its fifty
percent interest in the St. Charles Active Adult Community LLC, a
joint venture project, to Lennar for $3.5 million and will no
longer have any involvement with the joint venture project. The
joint venture was formed in 2003 to develop Heritage at St.
Charles, a 352-unit age restricted neighborhood. Approximately 110
homes have already been built in the community. "This agreement
enables the Company to capture the full benefit of its current
economic interest in the joint venture and provides an immediate,
positive cash flow to the Company," said Matthew M. Martin, Chief
Financial Officer. "While the Company's rental apartment portfolio
is performing well in the current economy, the ongoing, historic
difficulties in the real estate market will continue to negatively
impact the Company's community development operations, both in the
United States and Puerto Rico, for the immediate future," concluded
Mr. Griessel. "Until the market improves, we will identify and
implement ways to properly align the Company's operating costs and
cash flow, while seeking opportunities that will present themselves
when that improvement materializes." ACPT (NYSE Alternext US:APO)
is a diversified real estate organization with operations in
Maryland and Puerto Rico that specializes in community development,
multifamily rental properties, and asset management services. ACPT
is currently listed on the NYSE Alternext US Exchange under the
symbol AmCmntyProp (APO). For more information about ACPT, visit
http://www.acptrust.com/. For more information about the planned
community of St. Charles, visit http://www.stcharlesmd.com/.
DATASOURCE: American Community Properties Trust CONTACT: Craig
Renner of American Community Properties Trust, +1-301-843-8600 Web
Site: http://www.acptrust.com/
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