Builder Creates Development in Chino Hills
DeVere H. Anderson wants his Butterfield Ranch land development in Chino Hills to have the latest in planning features and recreational amenities.
He doesn’t want it to become so expensive that affordable housing will disappear in the planned 1,974-unit development sprawling over 627 acres two miles north of California 91 along California 71 in the extreme southwest corner of San Bernardino County.
“Prices for finished homes should range from about $80,000 to about $185,000,” he said in an interview near the Encino offices of DeVere Anderson Enterprises Inc. “Our major market will be people who work in Orange County who can’t afford housing there. They either rent in Orange County or live in houses where they spend up to three hours a day commuting to and from their jobs.”
Straight Land Development
Butterfield Ranch is a straight land development project for Anderson; he plans to build no houses himself.
It was a difficult choice for a man who spent a decade as president of W & A Builders Inc.--the “W” is for Watt, as in Ray Watt--and who continues to build housing in places like Baldwin Park.
“I originally planned to build in Butterfield Ranch, but so many other builders expressed interest in buying lots there that I decided to leave the building of the finished product to others,” he said of the project that is his first all-new one since he left the presidency of W & A Builders last year. “I will exercise control over the quality of the product, and the plan sets forth the type of housing that can be built in any given area.”
Anderson is in negotiations with at least seven builders who want to buy lots in Butterfield Ranch, named because of its proximity to the historic Butterfield stage route of the 19th Century.
Among them are U.S. Home and Hettig, Texas-based builders; Larwin Construction Co., Encino; M.J. Brock & Sons Inc., Los Angeles; Griffin Homes, Calabasas, and the Sandling Group, Irvine.
“Finished lots will be available about November and the first finished houses should be ready beginning next spring,” Anderson said. The development will have 73 acres for 364 single-family detached houses on lots averaging 4,000 to 5,000 square feet; 83.1 acres for 562 “cottages” or small single-family detached houses; 45.5 acres for 1,039 multifamily units and 116.5 acres of custom lots for only 9 dwelling units.
Commercial uses will total about 12.5 acres, with the balance of the land devoted to open space (236 acres), streets, schools and parks, Anderson said. The development’s main street will be a continuation of Euclid Street forming an interchange with California 71 (the Corona Expressway), upgraded to freeway standards, he added.
The Butterfield Ranch’s network of biking, riding and hiking trails will connect with trails in the 9,418-acre Chino Hills State Park to the west and the 1,200-acre Prado Regional Park to the east. The former is in development, but the latter is a popular facility in the Inland Empire, with two golf courses, a 56-acre boating and fishing lake, campgrounds and picnic areas.
Anderson is first vice president of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California; next year he will succeed Jack Shine of First Financial Group, Encino, as president.
