Lusk Lets Other Companies Build Its 2,000-Acre Town in Riverside County : REAL ESTATE

The Lusk Co., a large Irvine home builder, is trying its hand at something new: After years of building subdivisions, Lusk will develop its own new town in Riverside County and let others do the building.

Construction begins this month on the first structure--an information center--in Menifee, a 2,000-acre town in the southwest part of the county.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with housing generally priced lower than in Orange and Los Angeles counties, compose one of the hottest housing markets in the nation.

When the town is completed in seven to 10 years, it will have 16,000 residents in 6,000 homes and apartments.

Lusk has already acted as a developer on commercial construction projects, with other companies doing the actual building. But this is the first time that Lusk has taken that role in a residential project.

Building homes in the first phase of the project are Ahmanson Developments of Covina; Bramelea California of Costa Mesa; Century American of Orange, and Costain Homes of Newport Beach.

Also: GlenFed Development in Encino; Premier Homes of Newport Beach; Woodcrest Development of Irvine and Riverside; Pulte Home Corp. of Newport Beach, and Osborne Development of Laguna Hills.