Texas Real Estate Developers and Global Alternative Investment Firm Värde Partners Acquire Windsong Ranch in Prosper, Texas

PROSPER, TX AND MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Värde Partners and Texas-based real estate developers Craig Martin and David Blom today announced their joint acquisition of Windsong Ranch, a master planned community in Prosper, Texas, from an affiliate of the Terra Verde Group. Messrs. Martin and Blom, the original developers of Windsong Ranch, have teamed up with Värde to form a new real estate development company, Tellus Group, to continue leading the project. Tellus Group now seeks to build on the momentum established at Windsong Ranch including the completion of the community’s new Crystal Lagoon amenity attraction.

“In a dynamic real estate market with consistently strong job growth, Windsong has experienced strong demand and is now one of the most sought after residential locations in the greater Dallas metro area,” said Mr. Martin, president of Tellus Group.  “Given our experience with the project going back several years, we are excited to partner with Värde to acquire it and see it through to completion.  With the formation of Tellus Group, we are also now positioned to find similar high-quality projects to invest in.”

Windsong Ranch is a 2,030-acre, award-winning, master planned development located at 1001 Windsong Parkway South, just 2.5 miles west of the Dallas North Tollway on the north side of U.S. Highway 380. Approximately one-quarter of its planned homes are currently occupied or completed. Tellus Group will oversee the development of the remaining acreage through the completion of the project.

Setting a new standard in the Dallas market, Windsong Ranch will be the first development in North Texas to offer a Crystal Lagoon.  Slated to open in spring 2019, the amenity will feature a five acre, man-made, crystal clear, turquoise blue fresh water lagoon creating a beach-like lifestyle complete with watersports and white sand beaches. In addition, Windsong Ranch offers 2 pools, a cafe, mountain biking trails, a disk golf course, tennis and basketball courts, multiple fishing lakes, a community garden, 600 acres of open green space interconnected by 30 miles of walking trails, an event lawn, dock and amphitheater.

“We’re excited to partner with two local experts with deep experience in the market as we expand our real estate portfolio to include a best-in-class master planned community in Texas,” said Brendan Bosman, a managing director at Värde Partners responsible for real estate investing in the U.S. “We have been investing in residential real estate developments for more than 10 years and look forward to sourcing more opportunities with Tellus Group in the future.”

“The popularity of Windsong Ranch has been a big contributor to Prosper’s development,” said Mr. Blom, Partner at Tellus Group. “Our new partners share our vision of continuing that growth and success and investing in similar projects. We will be looking for other opportunities of this scale where we can apply the same quality standards and concepts in other parts of Texas and the country.”

Upon completion, Windsong Ranch will consist of 3,100 single-family homes and 150 acres of mixed-use development along U.S. Highway 380. Homes are from the upper $200,000s to over $1 million and range from villas to single-family homes on 61’- 86’ lots. Builders include: American Legend Homes, Belclaire Homes, Britton Homes, Chesmar Homes, Darling Homes, Drees Custom Homes, Grenadier Homes, Highland Homes, Huntington Homes, and MainVue Homes. Models are open daily for tours.

Windsong Ranch is 35 minutes from downtown Dallas, 30 minutes from DFW Airport and 40 minutes from Dallas Love Field. Major shopping conveniences are just outside the community’s entrance.

For more information on Windsong Ranch, please visit: http://www.windsongranchliving.com

About Tellus Group
Tellus Group, LLC, is a real estate investment firm focused on opportunistic commercial and residential and mixed-use land development real estate assets.  Its principals have decades of combined experience in investments and development in the real estate marketplace. Tellus Group seeks to deliver risk-adjusted rates of return that build and sustain investor trust throughout the investment cycle. Tellus creates value by engineering and executing smart, disciplined, proactive management and capital strategies, while adhering to the core values it shares with its partners.

About Värde Partners
Värde Partners is a nearly $14 billion global alternative investment firm that employs a value-based approach to investing across a broad array of geographies, segments and asset types, including specialty finance, real estate, corporate credit, mortgages, energy, real assets and infrastructure. The firm sponsors and manages a family of private investment funds with a global investor base that includes foundations and endowments, pension plans, insurance companies, other institutional investors and private clients. Now in its third decade, Värde employs more than 300 people globally with regional headquarters in Minneapolis, London and Singapore.