CC Homes Sells Sunrise Development Site to Lennar Land Bank

CC Homes, led by developers Armando Codina and Jim Carr, cashed out of their Sunrise development site planned for 900 homes for $164.5 million, a big gain in value from its price three years ago.

New York-based DW Partners, a land bank for homebuilding titan Lennar, bought the 160-acre former golf course at 7400 Northwest 24th Place from Coral Gables-based CC Homes and its partner Ronald DiGasbarro, according to records. DW Partners and Lennar signed a purchase option agreement for Lennar to purchase the site. The agreement expires in 2031.

CC Homes also is entitled to receive a portion of the proceeds from each future home sale, records show.

The project, called Solterra, is planned for about 400 single-family homes and the remainder of the residences will be townhomes, including affordable townhomes. It’s been in the works since at least 2021, when CC Homes scored a development agreement with the city, including to form the Solterra Community Development District.

CDDs are a common way for developers of large communities in Florida to finance roads, stormwater and sewer systems, sidewalks and other infrastructure. Once residential complexes are sold out, homeowners assume the responsibility to pay back the CDD bonds.

CC Homes and DiGasbarro paid $12.3 million for the site, which used to be the Sunrise Country Club.

Codina and Carr founded residential development firm CC Homes in 2007. Separately, Codina and his daughter, Ana-Marie Codina Barlick, lead development firm Coral Gables-based Codina Partners.

Miami-based Lennar, led by Stuart Miller, is considered the second largest homebuilder in the U.S. and the largest in south Miami-Dade County. It heavily relies on land banks to hold developable tracts until Lennar is ready to start building homes. This way, Lennar outsources land ownership and the risk tied to it, allowing it to carry the land off its financial books and deploy its funds toward construction instead of land ownership.

Near Pompano Beach, Millrose Properties of Florida, which Lennar spun off as its land bank last year, paid $50 million last month for a 20-acre development site planned for 426 condos and townhomes within The Pomp mixed-use project.

Also last month, DW Partners paid $24 million for 423 homesites in the Keys Gate residential subdivision in Homestead. The seller, JEN Partners, also is a land bank for Lennar, with the homebuilder essentially switching land banks through the deal.