Master-planned community revitalized

ONTARIO, Calif.—The Empire Companies, an Ontario, Calif.-based real estate company, completed a transaction with KB Home that gives it full ownership of the Anaverde master-planned community in Palmdale, Calif. The 5,200-lot project, begun in the 1980s, was initially named City Ranch. The project stalled during the real estate downturn in the early 1990s and stagnated for nearly a decade. The city of Palmdale and KB Home approached Empire in 2002 about revitalizing the project.

Empire purchased the controlling interest, infused the project with new capital, renamed the project Anaverde, and reorganized the development plan. Since that time, Empire has delivered more than $160 million in improvements to the infrastructure, including parks, roads, water, sewer systems, communications, and power. More than 1,400 lots have been delivered to merchant home builders and nearly 900 homes have been built, sold, and occupied.

Now with full ownership, Empire’s plans include 5,200 single-family homes, retail shopping centers, three new schools, a Jack Nicklaus-designed public golf course, a large regional park, several smaller parks, and a new state-of-the-art fire station.