Investing in Land

Walton International Group Inc. and Walton Ontario Land L. P. 1 announced today that Walton Ontario Land L.P. 1 completed its initial public offering, raising gross proceeds of $18,555,500 and issuing 1,855,550 units.

Proceeds of the offering will be used to purchase and manage parcels of land comprised of 155 acres of land located near Toronto in Alliston, Ontario, and 300 acres of land located in the southwest quadrant of the City of Ottawa. The Partnership’s investment objective is to maximize returns to limited partners through the acquisition, management, concept planning and eventual sale of these two properties.

Read more here.

No two places could be as dissimilar than Grand Junction, Colorado and Escanaba, Michigan but each has seen the value of managing land development issues for both the future and the here and now.

In his year-end report, Escanaba City Manager Jim O’Toole said that “In this depressed time of land development, the city still experienced almost $4 million in improvements.”   As reported in the Escanaba Daily Press, “Though this figure is down compared to previous years, he said he was pleased to report what was accomplished during the poor economy.”

For a small town (population 13,000) along the water on the south short of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, these numbers are nothing to sneeze at!

A little further south sits Grand Junction, Colorado.  A little higher (about a mile above sea level), a little bigger (population 43,000) and a little drier (locked among Colorado, Idaho, Arizona and New Mexico), it too found value in dealing actively with land development.

As reported in the Grand Junction Free Press, the Mesa County governing body is helping to address its micro needs with some macro changes.  According to County Commissioner Craig Meis,  “In this economy, we feel your pain.  We’re sharpening our pencils to find ways to help by cutting county taxes and fees.”

Key though was the link between making changes that have an effect now and in the future.  “As a business owner himself, Meis has spearheaded this effort called ‘Open for Business,’ identifying key areas where business expansion could be encouraged, and obstacles to growth eliminated.”

Forward thinking and land development have been synonomous for a large group of companies who are committed to helping cities like Escanba and Grand Junction get the most of their real estate.  Companies like Walton International have, for more than 30 years, been just that kind of partner to communities.

It looks like it is paying off.