Yosemite National Park receives over 4 million visitors per year and the U.S. Park Service has decided to close some campgrounds in the park to alleviate congestion. In response, three private developments have recently been approved on property outside Yosemite to provide additional accommodations to visitors. As a condition to the resort approvals, “workforce housing” (in extremely short supply in Tuolumne County) is required.
There are two main entrances to Yosemite National Park, the northern entrance is reached through the town of Groveland, California. Sage Villas LLC has 25 acres in Groveland adjacent to the Pine Mountain Lake Airport (where charter flights originate for Yosemite flights) The property is ideally located for both workforce housing, general housing, and Airbnb type accommodation and is located in a Federally designated Opportunity Zone, eliminating long term capital gains taxes if the project is constructed and held for ten years. Sage Villas property is the closest parcel to the existing and planed developments with the ability to be served with GCSD water and sewer.
The Project will consist of 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom units (102 dwellings) built in clusters upon the 25 acre parcel. The intent is to offer a resort type feel for its residents. Construction of the Units will be fire resistant in every way, and will utilize light gauge steel framed walls and siding that looks like wood but are resistant to fire. The steel framing, provided by an affiliated company managed by the developer, R-stud (www.rstud.com), is renowned for its strength, reduced thermal bridging, and reduced embodied carbon attributes. Construction will be panelized off-site and assembled on-site to shorten the construction schedule and alleviate the bottlenecks and time delays usually associated with remote developments.
Sage Villas LLC has received interest from several local resorts that are in need of workforce housing (an approximate shortage of housing for 450 employees) Companies such as “Under Canvas”www.undercanvas.com, a national hospitality company, which provides “glamping” for visitors to some of America’s most popular parks. Under Canvas is interested in a master lease of 13 dwellings for a ten year term, including rent and utilities with annual increases. Sage Villas LLC is in initial discussions with two newly approved resorts known as Terra Vi www.terravi.com, Firefall Ranch https://www.firefallranch.com, Rush Creek Lodge https://www.rushcreeklodge.com and the US National Park Service to master lease blocks of the units, on similar terms, for their required workforce housing.
The National Park Service has included funds for units in this fiscal years budget, with additional units to be added in 2026, bringing the total potentially pre-leased units to 68. The remainder of the Project dwellings will be leased to fulfill the unmet housing demand in Tuolumne County. The Groveland School district, Adventist Hospital and local businesses all report significant numbers of unfilled living wage benefited positions due primarily to the extreme lack of housing. The Rush Creek Lodge and Park Service are actually housing employees in tents as there is no available alternatives.
Ground up development has a high set of risk factors. Sage Villas is focused on reducing those risks by removing as many of those factors as possible. This includes pre-leasing a significant portion of the project and utilizing panelized construction to control quality and timing. Once fully constructed and stabilized, the management team will evaluate the overall marketplace and will consider financing and returning to the investors all or a portion of their original investments. Quarterly distributions of free cash flow, with a targeted average annual cash-on-cash return of 10%. together with the tax benefits provided by opportunity zone investments are intended to provide a safe and secure 10 year investment strategy. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/opportunity-zones.
Sage Villas, LLC intends to pursue a Regulation D Offering to Accredited investors for the majority of its equity, utilizing a very conservative approach to leverage. Sage Villas, LLC has qualified for $6,000,000 in C-PACE financing, C-PACE financing is a US Department of Energy program for energy efficient buildings. It provides a long term, fully amortized fixed rate loan that is assumable by a potential future buyer of the development. The project will have a goal of being awarded one several accredations awarded by https://living-future.org We believe that because of our project planning and the use of Red List Free materials, and the projects resistance to fire this project will garner a significant amount of free press.
Upon completion, a professional real estate management company will be hired to collect rents and oversee maintenance. After ten years of operation, the property will be listed for sale and net proceeds will be distributed.
For a copy of the Sage Villas, LLC Prospectus and Private Placement Memorandum, please contact us.
Sage Villas LLC provides workforce and general housing near Yosemite’s northern entrance in Groveland, CA. The 25-acre property is in a Federal Opportunity Zone with access to GCSD water and sewer.
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