The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is expanding its role in U.S. real estate, putting longtime land holdings to work in housing, commercial development and large master-planned communities.
The church owns at least 2.4 million acres across the country with an assessed value of more than $20 billion, according to Bloomberg, which reviewed property records compiled by real estate data provider Reonomy. The figure likely understates the church’s holdings because of gaps in state property records and investments held through partnerships and outside funds.
The church’s real estate operations include Property Reserve, which oversees investments in offices, apartments and hotels, as well as Land Reserve, which focuses on master-planned communities. Farmland Reserve handles agricultural properties, including farms and ranches.
Property Reserve and a related affiliate have significantly increased their transaction activity under Ashley Powell, who took over leadership in 2017. The number of deals has nearly doubled compared with the previous decade, according to Reonomy data.
The biggest moves are occurring in markets experiencing rapid population growth. In Aurora, Colorado, Property Reserve is developing Tributary, a 960-acre project near Denver International Airport. The development is planned to include housing for more than 12,000 people, along with retail, parks, a school and a fire station.
The church also recently acquired nearly 3,000 acres southwest of Austin, where it obtained development rights for thousands of homes. In the Phoenix area, it is planning a community on about 4,000 acres of land accumulated since the 1980s.
Florida is home to an even larger undertaking. The church is working with Tavistock Development on Sunbridge, a master-planned community being built on former Deseret Ranch land. The development is expected to eventually include more than 36,000 homes and commercial space. More than 1,400 homes have been completed so far.
The scale of the projects has brought the church into local disputes over growth and infrastructure. Sunbridge has faced opposition over road construction, conservation and the expansion of development into rural areas. In other parts of Florida, church-owned land has raised concerns about flooding, traffic and pressure on local resources.
The church says some of its legacy properties are increasingly suited to development as population growth reaches areas that were once agricultural. Its commercial portfolio, meanwhile, is intended to generate long-term cash flow to support its religious mission.
Real estate executives familiar with the church’s transactions describe an investor with an unusually long time horizon. The institution can buy properties with cash and hold them for decades, allowing it to approach development differently from investors working on conventional fund timelines.
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