Landsea buys 500-home development in Dublin for almost $125M 

Landsea Homes has closed on 500 approved homesites at a new master-planned community in Dublin, paying SCS Development and its partners just under $125 million, according to property records. It’s the Dallas-based developer’s biggest master-planned project in the Bay Area thus far, according to California Division President Tom Baine.

“We saw a great opportunity to get back on track and grow in this market with the acquisition of these lots,” he said, adding that there is “very high demand for housing in the Tri-Valley region” and that Dublin is a “prime city in the East Bay with a nice downtown, great schools and appealing outdoor lifestyle.”

In 2022, Landsea agreed to buy the 54-acre portion of the total 77-acre project SCS bought for $80 million back in 2017, according to public records. But the deal did not go into contract until last fall and the price was undisclosed at that time. 

Landsea purchased the entire site North of Dublin Blvd., which includes all residential and Finnian Way commercial land, according to SCS spokesperson Kevin Fryer. Landsea will develop the market-rate units and donate the parcel designated for affordable housing to an affordable housing developer, which will meet the balance of the affordable housing obligations from the project’s entitlements, Fryer said.  

The approximately 23-acre commercial parcel south of Dublin Boulevard is still owned by SCS and it is working on “a project consistent with the City’s approved Preferred Plan for the property that would include family oriented recreational, retail and dining uses primarily,” he said, adding that more details should come this summer.  

Financing for Landsea’s portion of the overall development, dubbed Dublin Centre, has been secured, Baine said, though he declined to give details. 

A servicing company attached to New York-based land banking firm Kennedy Lewis is technically the property’s new owner, according to public records, with Landsea granted the option to develop until the end of March 2029. The Kennedy Lewis-affiliated LLC received nearly $54 million in seller financing from Santa Clara Valley Housing Group, which was one of the SCS partners on the sale and has the same vice president, according to public records.

In April, Landsea and Kennedy Lewis also partnered on a 14.5-acre deal to build 90 homes in Mesa, Ariz., according to press reports from that time. Locally, the investor also plans to work with Lennar on a  9.5-acre site for 160 homes in San Ramon it bought in February. 

The Dublin Centre project at Tassajara Road and Dublin Boulevard was approved by the city in late 2022 and development is slated to begin this year, with sales starting in late 2025, according to a press release from Landsea. It will feature 500 units, not 550 as was originally planned, and will include single-family detached homes and attached townhomes. Some will have Landsea’s trademarked LiveGen suites, according to the release, which have a first-floor bedroom and optional kitchenette for “multigenerational living.” 

The project also features a large community swim center and water park, and other shared outdoor amenities. The architecture will be a mix of modern and traditional and was designed by Pleasanton-based Dahlin Architecture Group. 

Landsea Homes, the publicly traded offshoot of Chinese developer Landsea Group, began selling units in its 182-unit Alameda Marina townhome community in the second half of last year. Baine said the waterfront location continues to command “strong interest,” with nine homes sold during the first quarter this year.