reimagined.
Terra Vista Management’s core mission is to cultivate precious experiences that enrich the lives of its guests, investors, and team members.
Terra Vista Management provides a comprehensive suite of professional services for the ownership of managed properties, including:
· Real Estate Investment Management and Investor Relations
· Property Operations and Personnel Management
· Entitlement and regulatory land planning
· Development and Project Management
Terra Vista Management, Inc. (TVM) manages residential and hospitality-oriented income properties, with a specialty in luxury manufactured housing communities, recreation vehicle resorts and marinas. Many of TVM’s key personnel were part of the leadership of DeAnza Group. Formed in 1969 by real estate attorney Herbert M. Gelfand, TVM’s affiliated predecessor, DeAnza Group, pioneered the previously unthinkable concept of high-end mobile home and recreational vehicle (RV) parks with resort-level amenities and hospitality.
Over the course of three decades, DeAnza provided expert services involving acquisitions, property management, finance, development and disposition, employing a team of over 600 people, and acquired income producing properties on behalf of 16 private and public partnerships representing a total of 12,750 investors. The portfolio ultimately included 35 properties located in California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. The company also provided fee management services to private and institutional owners as well as homeowners associations.
In 1994 the company sold the majority of its portfolio to what is now Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS). Several key properties were retained, and TVM was formed by former DeAnza Group president Michael Gelfand to continue the tradition of providing unparalleled real estate investment and property management services in the MHP and RV space.
TVM is driven by its core mission to cultivate precious experiences that enrich the lives of its guests, investors and team members. That mission extends to all of the business units that Terra Vista manages, from RV resorts, residential communities, and marinas, to restaurants, event venues and recreational facilities. The management focus of TVM’s RV resort properties is to facilitate compelling, unforgettable experiences, far beyond simply renting a space for guests to park their RV. TVM’s management teams choreograph these experiences from the first point of contact, through the reservation and check-in process, hook-up (of their RV), recreation and entertainment, food and beverage, and problem solving, all with the goal of facilitating guests’ spiritual rejuvenation, reconnection with nature, and with their friends and family.
Only through honesty, ethical decision-making, and positively impacting our neighboring communities and environment, can we succeed.
By seeing the world through the eyes of our customers, we can provide them with the best possible experience to exceed their expectations.
Placing the needs of our customers, investors, fellow team members and communities ahead of our own, we display our loyalty.
TVM operates its properties with a sincere desire to respect the natural world, and to promote the health and safety of the people that make up our team of dedicated professionals, many of whom have worked for the company for multiple decades. For over forty years, the company’s managed properties have been operated using energy efficient infrastructure and without the use of toxic chemicals. Many of TVM’s properties are adjacent to wetlands or similar natural resources. The company has also invested in the professional development of its staff through ongoing training opportunities, health and dental benefits, paid vacation time and sick leave, and also paid college tuition and books.
The team has developed deep experience and expertise working with a wide array of government agencies and has proven successful in obtaining redevelopment entitlements. In 2016, TVM obtained from the California Coastal Commission and the City of Newport Beach nearly unanimous approval of a land use designation zoning change for one of its waterfront properties. TVM’s properties take an active, constructive role in their surrounding communities, generating invaluable goodwill and community-wide support, as well as recognition for excellence in the media.
1969
DeAnza Group formed by Herbert M. Gelfand to purchase lease for Mission Bay property in San Diego, formerly known as De Anza Harbor Resort, now Mission Bay RV Resort.
1971
Acquired lease for Bayside Village MHP and Marina.
1974
Acquired Moon Valley Mobile Home Community fee.
1977
Acquired Campland on the Bay lease.
1972-93
DeAnza Group expansion: 600 employees; 30 owned and 11 fee-managed properties in 9 states, totaling over 13,000 spaces; 15 private and public partnerships with 12,750 investors; many properties acquired through syndications with equity raised by Merrill Lynch.
1994
DeAnza Group negotiated sale of portfolio properties to MHC, now ELS, in an up-REIT, retaining Campland on the Bay, Moon Valley MHP, and Bayside Village MHP and Marina.
1994
Terra Vista Management formed by Michael Gelfand, former President of DeAnza Group.
1996
Bayside Village Mobile Home Park and Marina fee acquired.
2003
Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort and Marina lease acquired as Gelfand family / Goldrich Kest joint venture.
2016
2016 – Back Bay Landing project at Bayside Village Marina received development entitlements from the California Coastal Commission and City of Newport Beach.
2019
San Diego City Council granted Campland lease extension and a new lease for Mission Bay RV Resort, extendable through 2026.
2022
The California Coastal Commission approved the Coastal Development Permit to remove which includes the remediation and removal of dilapidated mobile homes on De Anza Cove, the cleanup of landscaping, the repair and improvement of the pedestrian/bike path, and the addition of 147 temporary RV campsites. The cleanup project commenced on November 14, 2022.
TVM’s acquisition focus is on desirable locations with the potential to add value through enhanced hospitality and amenities, recreation opportunities, capital improvement projects, expansion, management and marketing, and staff development. The company’s affiliated partnerships acquire properties at current industry cap rates that typically exceed the cost of debt, ideally below replacement cost, and in particular where the previous ownership has lacked the expertise or capital to optimize the upside potential.
The company’s “sweet spot” is RV properties with a minimum 200 spaces. This scale provides the critical mass necessary to retain professional, onsite management, and the potential for valued added capital and operational improvements driven by TVM’s corporate and regional management team. The revenue per space should be at or below market relative to comparable properties, however, the property should have the potential for improvement – and ideally expansion and diversification – so that the effective rates can be significantly improved.
TVM has deep and varied experienced in RV resort design, development and construction. The company has added spaces to existing parks and looks for opportunities to expand properties whenever feasible. TVM’s team has expertise managing myriad property utility systems, including sub metered electric, gas, cable, etc., potable water wells, and sewage treatment systems – including successfully completed full utility system replacements through the California Public Utility Commission’s Mobile home Park Utility Upgrade Program. TVM’s team has cultivated both technical and political experience operating properties adjacent to sensitive environmental areas and in challenging regulatory environments.
Are you ready to reimagine your property management? And create enchanting destinations? Take the first step today.
