CAMBRIDGE, MD-Crimson Partners, the Bernstein Cos. and Rock Creek Property Group have partnered to buy 73 acres of land here that it intends to wholesale to developers interested in building second homes close to the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Golf Resort. The trio acquired the land, known as the Residences at River Marsh, from the lender Wachovia Bank at a steep discount. Rock Creek partner Gary Schlager declines to discuss pricing with GlobeSt.com, citing the purchase agreement’s request for confidentiality.

The price was low enough, though, he says, that it will allow the partners to sell the land wholesale to home builders in parcels of 10 to 50 units. The developers, in turn, will sell the homes to homeowners who are most likely seeking a second home near the resort.

“We believe over the next five years there will be enough absorption that we will be able to dispose of all of these lots,” Schlager says. The market is recovering to the point where people are willing to consider new, second homes, he explains, and there is the additional lure of the amenities at the club.

Costs will be lower for the developers as well, he adds, as most of the infrastructure is already in place. The land was originally entitled in 1999. Beazer Homes and GMAC acquired it in 2005 with the intention of selling finished lots to Beazer Home's home-building division. Wachovia eventually foreclosed on the land in 2009, when the business plan floundered.

The next step for the new owners, Schlager says, is to engage a brokerage firm to market the land and, before that, help it establish pricing for the lots. It expects that developers will be able to market the homes in at least five nearby states so it is looking for a brokerage with that kind of reach.