No GPA This Year
Romspen LLC, the owner of the closed Vistoso Golf Course, has removed its request for a general plan amendment. According to a press release from the group Preserve Vistoso, Romspen said it anticipates re-application next year (2021). It's about money
Last week, LOVE reported that Romspen had refused a fair market value offer from the The Conservation Fund. The purchase would have resulted in the land becoming a nature preserve. It would be part of The Town of Oro Valley's parks system.
Preserve Vistoso Responds
The group Preserve Vistoso issued the following in a press release Tuesday.
"Preserve Vistoso Board and members are extremely disappointed that Romspen failed to accept a cash, fair market value offer from The Conservation Fund (TCF) for the purchase of the former Vistoso Golf Course. Romspen failed to understand the commitment this community has to save the property as a Nature Preserve and Community Trail. We made our voices heard with the Town of Oro Valley in 2020 and we will do the same in 2021. Preserve Vistoso intends to continue our outreach and grow our membership. We will be even stronger when Romspen applies again for a General Plan Amendment in 2021."
"The game is afoot"
Real estate deals are tricky deals. They can take years to happen, according to Mike Ford, of The Conservation Fund (Source: Jim Horn's Oro Valley Podcast). Romspen LLC, a lender of last resort, has every reason, at the moment, to wait this out. Their goal is to maximize their profit investment. They have no vested interest in the well being of Oro Valley. They have seen how anxious our community is to have this property.
We suspect that the will wait until either one of the following happens:
- The politics of council change via elections in 2022 such that general plan amendments are likely approved
- Romspen experiences a liquidity crunch and needs to sell the property
- Romspen decides that it can better employ the funds in a more lucrative investment
- A legal action compels them to sell the land at fair market value
- Somebody blinks and they get a much greater offer
We shall see.
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