Developer, Japanese Firm Buy Spanish Hills Project
The 430-acre Spanish Hills project in Camarillo has been purchased by a San Juan Capistrano developer and a Japanese construction firm for $45 million, officials said Friday.
Pacific Land & Golf Inc. and Sato Kogyo America Corp. bought the undeveloped land from Hilltop Development Co. of Bakersfield and plan to sell ocean-view lots surrounding an 18-hole golf course. Grading is expected to begin in June, with sales to start in September, officials said.
“It’s a new generation of country club,” said J. Porter Barton, marketing director for Pacific Land & Golf of San Juan Capistrano.
The Spanish Hills Golf and Country Club project, north of the Ventura Freeway and east of Central Avenue, already has been approved by the city of Camarillo, said Matthew Boden, director of planning. The area was previously known as Mission Hills.
Spanish Hills includes 186 lots of from one to three acres each, where the houses are to be built. The developers also plan to build 60 condominiums, Boden said.
The golf course will be designed by Robert Cupp, a golf course designer who worked for 10 years with pro golfer Jack Nicklaus’ company, officials said.
Boden said memberships to the country club probably will cost $50,000 to $150,000 each. The lots for homes will cost from $400,000 to $1 million, he estimated.
The club will include croquet lawns, tennis courts, a swimming pool and day care, he said.
Some members of Pacific Land & Golf developed the Marbella Golf and Country Club in San Juan Capistrano, Boden said.
Sato Kogyo American is a U.S. subsidiary of Sato Kogyo Co. Ltd., a large Tokyo engineering and construction company founded in 1862. It has been involved in the U.S. real estate market since 1987.
Cushman Realty Corp. of Los Angeles was financial adviser to the partnership and arranged financing for it. Cushman elected to stay on as a limited partner, the group said.
