SOUTHLAND : S&L; to Sell Three Palm Springs Resorts in $967-Million Deal

In one of the biggest real estate deals this year, Landmark Land Co. Inc., a California savings and loan, said today that it agreed to sell most of its vast portfolio of real estate and resort developments for $967 million.

Landmark said it would sell the properties to Orange County developer Barry Hon in two phases over the next 14 months.

The sale includes nearly all of Landmark’s premier golf resorts, including PGA West, Mission Hills Country Club and La Quinta Hotel Golf and Tennis Resort in the Palm Springs area.

Landmark said the sale was forced by December’s savings and loan reform that limited equity investments by thrifts and boosted requirements for capital reserves.

“I’m sorry the law changed, but this is what we had to do,” said Chairman Gerald Barton, who bought Landmark in 1971 when it had less than $5 million in assets and built it into a major real estate developer. “I think we got a fair value, but I think Mr. Hon got an excellent deal.”

Landmark’s properties include a 6,404-acre, master-planned community in Riverside County, a 100-room hotel, golf course and world-class tennis club at Carmel Valley Ranch, and an upscale, 800-home development surrounding a golf course at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County. In addition to the California properties, the sale includes land on Kiawah Island, S.C., and in West Palm Beach, Fla.