Developer quits UMore project.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

The University of Minnesota will seek new redevelopment proposals for land at UMore Park in Rosemount due to the sudden withdrawal of a 1,500 home subdivision proposal.

San Diego-basedNewlandCommunities pulled out of a purchase agreement in mid-September under which the company agreed to buy 435.5 acres of UMore land from the university. The developer sent a notice of termination to the school on Sept. 16, said David Newman, a consultant working with Newland on the planned community. Newland would have paid $13.1 million for the land at the 4,772-acre property.

Newland exited the deal after the company's financing partner, North America Sekisui House, or NASH, declined to fund the purchase and the development, Newman said in a Wednesday interview. NASH stepped back from the financing deal due to "balance sheet issues" with its parent company, Japan based Sekisui house, he said. NASH has been a Newland financier since 2010.

"They put the clamps on any new acquisitions for the time being," Newman said.

Newland approached other lenders for the UMore project, but was turned down, he said.

Newland was one of two developers that had committed to buying land at UMore Park. Minnetonka-based Opussigned a $14 million purchase agreement in 2016 for 159 acres of UMore land.

Now, the university will go back to the drawing board to attract more developers to the property, according to a statement issued Wednesday by Jake Ricker, the school's public relations director.

"Newland Land Acquisition, LLC has decided to terminate its purchase agreement with the University of Minnesota for 435.546 acres of UMore Park located in Rosemount," the statement reads. "The University will be preparing a new Request for Proposal (RFP) to be issued later this year."

The deal with Newland came out of a response to an RFPthe university issued in September 2017, Finance & Commerce archives show.

The city of Rosemount approved a concept plan in January for the Newland subdivision under the working name Vermillion Crossing, said Kim Lindquist, the city's community development director. The termination of the...