Arizona builder to take over stalled luxury San Clemente development

Arizona home builder Taylor Morrison Home Corp. has agreed to purchase a swath of coastal Orange County land, kick starting a long-stalled development that fell victim to the recession.

The builder, in a deal announced late Tuesday, said it would buy nearly 200 acres in San Clemente and start construction next year.

The 308-home Marblehead development has been in the works for decades. It faced stiff opposition from environmental groups, which sought to save one of the last open spaces along the Southern California coast.

“Marblehead is a truly unique site,” Taylor Morrison Chief Executive Sheryl Palmer said in a statement. “It presents a tremendous opportunity.”

The luxury project, where developers once envisioned 2,000 homes, skidded to a halt after its financier Lehman Bros. collapsed in 2008.

The Wall Street bank eventually took back the highly coveted project from Irvine developer SunCal after a bruising bankruptcy battle. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. placed it on the market in January.

The eventual winner was a joint venture between Taylor Morrison and two of its large shareholders: Oaktree Capital Management and TPG.

The Arizona builder said the deal was expected to close this month.

The purchase price was not disclosed.