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.
Terra Vista Management is driven by a mission to cultivate meaningful experiences that enrich the lives of its guests, investors, and team members. This philosophy guides every aspect of the company’s portfolio, from waterfront RV resorts and residential communities to marinas, restaurants, event venues, and recreational facilities.
At Terra Vista’s resort properties, the focus extends far beyond providing accommodations. Each guest experience is thoughtfully orchestrated to create moments of connection, relaxation, and discovery. From the first inquiry and seamless arrival process to recreation, entertainment, dining, and personalized guest service, every interaction is intentionally designed. Terra Vista believes hospitality is not simply about managing properties, but about creating places where people reconnect with nature, strengthen relationships, recharge from everyday life, and create lifelong memories.
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.
Integrity, empathy, and loyalty are more than guiding principles at Terra Vista Management. They are reflected in the way the company cares for its people, its properties, and the communities it serves. For over forty years, TVM has operated with a strong respect for the natural world, implementing energy-efficient infrastructure and environmentally conscious practices across its portfolio. Many of the company’s properties border ecologically sensitive coastal areas and wetlands, reinforcing Terra Vista’s ongoing commitment to responsible stewardship and sustainable operations.
Terra Vista’s culture is equally grounded in a deep investment in people. Many members of the company’s dedicated team have spent decades growing alongside the organization, a reflection of TVM’s commitment to loyalty, opportunity, and professional development. Through continuing education, training programs, comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, and educational assistance programs, Terra Vista supports the long-term success and well-being of its employees.
The company’s leadership team has also developed extensive expertise navigating complex redevelopment and entitlement processes in partnership with local and state agencies. In 2016, TVM secured near-unanimous approval from both the California Coastal Commission and the City of Newport Beach for a major waterfront land-use and zoning initiative. Across every property it manages, Terra Vista strives to be a positive and constructive community partner, building lasting relationships, generating goodwill, and earning recognition for excellence in hospitality and operations.
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.
