The buyer, Landmark Resort Properties of VA LLC, acquired the land from Delaware-based Revocor Corp. for $5 million. Given the property's location next to two significant recreation/entertainment venues, the new owner is considering a timeshare development on the land, according to the seller's broker, Sperry James Tucker of Sperry Van Ness in Williamsburg.

According to Tucker, the land had been on the market with another brokerage company for a year. Tucker reportedly named the parcel Park View because of the view of the roller coasters at Busch Gardens. Marketing garnered interest from two residential agents--Cindy Deakyne of RE/MAX Capital and William Barner of the Buyers Real Estate Broker--who brought the buyer to the table.

Tucker tells GlobeSt.com the property had been on the market a couple of times previously through other brokerage houses, but was a hard sell because of several factors. "The property had always been plagued by mystery as to how it would be served by utilities, and it was broken into three noncontiguous parcels," he says. "We recommended the seller engage an engineering firm to resolve the utility issue and provide some understanding of how the property could be turned into a single parcel."

The engineering firm did just that, and also confirmed that, with a rezone, the project would work well as a site for a timeshare development. To solve the issues, "There was a series of land swaps with an adjacent landowner, and also some trading back and forth with the golf course to access the sewer to service the property," says Tucker. "It stayed under contract for a little over a year before it closed, but that is pretty typical for a property that has to go through a rezone."

Before all that could occur, however, Tucker says he had to find a buyer that could see the possibility. Although the price was dropped a little bit, Tucker says what got the property sold was the fact that a wide net was cast. "We blew the doors open to find a buyer," he says. "It's always surprising where buyers come from, and these guys weren't on anybody's radar screen. They have never developed a timeshare before."

Instant Insights /

Resort Developer Buys 65 Acres Next to Amusement Park, Country Club

Related Stories

Recommended For You