| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NYSE: LEN S&P 500 Component |
| Industry | Construction |
| Founded | Miami, Florida |
| Founder(s) | Leonard Miller |
| Headquarters | Miami, Florida |
| Area served | 17 different states across the US |
| Key people | Stuart Miller (President and CEO) |
| Website | lennar.com |
Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) is a Fortune 500 company based in Miami, Florida, United States, in the Fountainbleau area.[1][2] It was founded in 1954.[3]
In 2008, Lennar was the United States' second largest homebuilder,[4] constructing homes in 17 [3] different states throughout the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia.[3]
Its commercial operations are handled by its spinoff LNR Property corporation NYSE: LNR.
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Co-founded in the 1950s by Leonard Miller.[5] He was the president and CEO of the company until 1997, when his son Stuart Miller replaced him.[5]
In 1997 it spun off LNR Property corporation, which handles the commercial operations,[5] under control of Stuart Miller. According to corporate disclosure, Stuart Miller is "the sole director and officer of a family-owned corporation which owns stock that gives it voting control of both companies.", referring to Lennar Corporation and LNR Property Corp.[6][7]
In 2006 it was listed as a Fortune 200 company [8] and one of Forbe's America's Best Managed companies.[9]
In 2007 and 2008, Lennar Corporation was affected by the crisis of the U.S. housing market, and its CEO has indicated that the construction industry needs government help to stabilize and recover the housing market and [4] that 32% of people who signed contracts for new homes have backed out of them [10] The housing slump also appears to be causing delays on one of the company's largest project, the Orange County Great Park, due to slower sales of houses.[11]
In 2007, Lennar posted heavy quarter losses. In 2008, against Wall Street expectations, Lennar has again posted losses, although smaller ones, and its total revenue has slipped 61%.[12] Lennar's CEO Stuart Millar has declared:
| “ | "Consistent with our expectations, the housing market has continued its downward trend throughout our second quarter. Foreclosures have increased while higher unemployment and diminishing consumer confidence have defined overall economic weakness. As a result, the housing market has continued to experience growth in inventory levels, which has depressed the prices of homes and restricted the ability to sell those homes in markets across the country." [12] | ” |
For the third quarter of 2008 Lennar reported losses for the sixth consecutive quarter, to a total loss of $2.4 billion since 2006.[13] Its CEO warned on an earning conferences that house prices are still falling after a "false uptick" on August, expressed a fear that they were "chasing the market downward".[13] On the press release he called to the Federal Government for meaningful actuations to stabilize home prices.[13][14] He also explained that the company was continuing to successfully reposition its product to meet today's consumer demand and cutting construction costs.[13][14]
In 2003, Lennar's flagship community Coto de Caza, California in Orange County was completed. It's a census-designated place (CDP) and a guard-gated private community, and has around 4,000 homes and 5,000 acres (20 km2). It started out as an inexpensive community, but it has blossomed into a sprawling affluent community, that now ranks among the wealthiest communities in all of the United States. It is no longer owned or controlled by Lennar, although Lennar Home has development rights on the last 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) in Coto.[15]
In the words of the LA Times, "for Lennar, closed military bases have become a cottage industry".[16] Lennar has bought closed military bases to clean them up and build neighbourhoods. All of them are great extensions of contaminated land that hold great potential for construction.
Mare Island Naval Shipyard is a 5,223 acres 152 year old closed Navy base, owned by Lennar Mare Island, a subsidiary of Lennar corp.[16] The company was chosen on 1997 as the master developer of this site. On 2002 the Navy transferred 650 acres (2.6 km2) to the city of Vallejo, and then to Lennar Mare Island.[17] Lennar stated that it would use those 650 acres (2.6 km2) to build homes, shops, restaurants and businesses. The company got the land for free in exchange for investing $260 million in streets and utilities, historic preservation and building renovation.[16] The Lennar Mare Island Reuse Plan includes 1,400 homes, roughly 7,000,000 square feet (650,000 m2) of commercial and industrial space, and many recreational amenities.[17]
On Mare Island, the Navy paid for the cleanup, Lennar assumed the environmental cleanup of the site.[16][17] CH2M Hill, Lennar's environmental contractor, is removing contaminated soil and stripping lead paint from houses.[16] There are several landowners waiting for the cleanup to finish so they can use their property, Touro University among them.[16]
Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Orange County, has 3,718 acres (15.05 km2) and was won on an auction on 2005 for $649.5 million.[16] It will include a 74-acre (300,000 m2) cemetery, 3,400 homes and 3,000,000 square feet (280,000 m2) of office, retail and industrial space, as well as a 248-acre (1.00 km2) exposition center and 45 holes of golf which didn't have a builder as of 2005.[18] The center of the base will be given to the city of Irvine, and will be the center of the Great Park, with 375 acres (1.52 km2) of parkland and 275 acres (1.11 km2) of wildlife and drainage corridors.[18] On 2008 this project has had delays, probably due to the housing slump.[11] Great Park officials have insisted that the project has enough money to be finished, although it will take longer to complete.[11][19]
Lennar Corporation is currently engaged in a controversial project within the Village of Columbus: Columbus Square over plans to change a condo project from ownership to rental units. http://www.ocregister.com/news/lennar-245092-square-columbus.html
March Air Reserve Base is an airfield near Riverside in Riverside County, California. Lennar built 16,000,000 square feet (1,500,000 m2) of industrial and office space on portions of the base.[16]
In 2005, Lennar Corporation, proposed to build a self-sustaining city on Treasure Island.
Lennar Corp. is building 10,500 homes at this former military base. African-Americans testified that they are "being pushed out, so the city can gentrify the area that is the last black neighborhood."[20]
Lennar was the developer for a new subdivision of half-million-dollar homes built in Orlando, Florida on the site of a former U.S. Army WWII PineCastle Jeep bombing range. Over the course of a year, 126 rockets and bombs were found on the property. In response, Lennar says it relied on studies that "made no mention of ... a military range," and claims the military did not show up in property ownership records because, "it had leased the land."[21]