Lennar Corporation

Infobox Company
company_name = Lennar Corporation
company_
company_type = Public (nasdaq|LEN)
foundation = Miami, Florida, on the 1950's
founder = Leonard Miller
location=flagicon|U.S. Miami, Florida
area_served = 17 different states across the US
key_people = Stuart Miller (President and CEO)
industry = Construction
products =
market c

revenue=
operating_income =
net_income =
assets =
equity =
num_employees =
slogan =
homepage = [http://www.lennar.com/ lennar.com]

Lennar Corporation (NYSE|LEN) is a Fortune 500 company company based in Miami, Florida, United States. It was founded in 1954. cite web | url = http://www.lennar.com/about/about.aspx | title = Lennar Corporation - About Lennar | publisher = Lennar Corporation | accessdate = 2008-07-24]

In 2008, Lennar was the United States' second largest homebuilder, cite web | url = http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSWNAS928120080626 | title = Lennar posts worse-than-expected loss; orders fall | work = Reuters | publisher = Thomson Reuters | date = 2008-06-26 | accessdate = 2008-07-24] constructing homes in 17 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.

Its commercial operations are handled by its spinoff LNR Property corporation NYSE|LNR.

History

Co-founded on the 1950s by Leonard Miller. cite news | url = http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2002/08/05/focus7.html | title = Lennar's founder dies at 69 | work = South Florida Business Journal | date = 2002-08-02 | accessdate = 2008-08-04] He was the president and CEO of the company until 1997, when his son Stuart Miller replaced him.

In 1997 it spun off "LNR Property" corporation, which handles the commercial operations, 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. [cite news | url = http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/sg012804.htm | title = Newhall Land Sold to Lennar-LNR, Santa Clarita Valley's biggest developer now controlled by nation's No. 3 home builder. | author = Leon Worden | work = The Signal | date = 2003-01-28 | accessdate = 2008-08-04] cite web | url = http://www.secinfo.com/dsdTs.2Da.htm | title = Lennar Corp/New · 10-K · For 11/30/02 | publisher = U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | accessdate = 2008-08-04]

In 2004 it exceeded analysts' estimates for its second-quarter earnings. [cite news | url = http://www.thestreet.com/markets/marketfeatures/10166079.html | title = Lennar Blows Away Estimates | 2004-0-15 | work = TheStreet.com | accessdate = 2008-07-24]

In 2006 it was listed as a Fortune 200 company [cite web | url = http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/snapshots/781.html | title = Fortune 500 2006. Our annual ranking of America's largest corporations | work = Fortune 500 | year = 2006 | accessdate = 2008-07-24 Ranked 161 based on 2005 revenues.] and one of Forbe's America's Best Managed companies. [cite web | url = http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2006/0109/108a.html | title = America's Best Managed Companies, Lennar | author = David Serchuk | work = Forbes | date = 2006-01-09 | accessdate = 2008-07-30]

Housing slump

On 2007 and 2008, Lennar Corporation has been affected by the crisis of the U.S. housing market, and its CEO has indicated that the contruction industry needs government help to stabilize and recover the housing market and that 32% of people who signed contracts for new homes have backed out of them cite web | url = http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/070925a/ | title = Lennar Drags The Housing Slump Down Lower | work = PBS | date = 2007-09-25 | accessdate = 2008-07-31 ] 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. cite news | url = http://articles.latimes.com/2007/sep/22/local/me-lennar22 | title = O.C. project delays may be tied to housing slump | work = Los Angeles Times | author = Tony Barboza and Dave Mckibben |date = 2007-09-07 | 2008-07-30]

On 2007, Lennar posted heavy quarter losses. On 2008, against Wall Street expectations, Lennar has again posted losses, altought smaller ones, and its total revenue has slipped 61%. Lennar's CEO Stuart Millar has declared:

Closed military bases

In the words of the LA Times, "for Lennar, closed military bases have become a cottage industry". cite web | url = http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/21/local/me-vallejo21 | title = In Vallejo, a Lesson in Converting El Toro | work = LA Times | author = Jean O. Pasco | date = 2005-03-21 | accessdate = 2008-08-06] 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

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. The company was chosen on 1997 as the master developer of this site. On 2002 the Navy transferred convert|650|acre|km2 to the city of Vallejo, and then to Lennar Mare Island. cite web | url = http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/success/upload/lennar-mare.pdf | title = Military Base Revitalization, Sucess story: Lennar Mare Island Ready for Reuse | publisher = California Department of Toxic Substances Control | date = July 2006 | accessdate = 2008-08-06] Lennar stated that it would use those convert|650|acre|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. The Lennar Mare Island Reuse Plan includes 1,400 homes, roughly convert|7000000|sqft|m2 of commercial and industrial space, and many recreational amenities.

On Mare Island, the Navy paid for the cleanup, Lennar assumed the enviromental cleanup of the site. CH2M Hill, Lennar's enviromental contractor, is removing contaminated soil and stripping lead paint from houses. There are several landowners waiting for the cleanup to finish so they can use their property, Touro University among them.

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro

Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Orange Country, has convert|3718|acre|km2 and was won on an auction on 2005 for $649.5 million. It will include a 74 acre cemetery, 3,400 homes and convert|3000000|sqft|m2 of office, retail and industrial space, as well as a convert|248|acre|km2|sing=on exposition center and 45 holes of golf which didn't have a builder as of 2005. cite web | url = http://articles.latimes.com/2005/feb/18/local/me-eltoro18 | title = With El Toro Sold, What’s Next? | work = LA Times | author = Jean O. Pasco | date = 2005-02-10 | accessdate = 2008-08-06] . The center of the base will be given to the city of Irvine, and will be the center of the Great Park, with convert|375|acre|km2 of parkland and convert|275|acre|km2 of wildlife and drainage corridors. On 2008 this project has had delays, probably due to the housing slump.

March Air Reserve Base

March Air Reserve Base is an airfield near Riverside in Riverside County, California. Lennar built convert|16000000|sqft|m2 of industrial and office space on portions of the base.

San Francisco Naval Shipyard

On 2005 there were negotiations to build on former Treasure Island Naval Base on San Francisco. See article on Treasure Island development.

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard

Lennar Corp. is building 16,000 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." ["Black population deserting S.F., study says", San Francisco Chronicle, 8/10/08 [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/09/BA5B1272U1.DTL&tsp=1] ]

Munitions found on home sites

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." [cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/30/backyard.bombs/index.html 2008 | title = Live bombs haunt Orlando neighborhood | work = CNN.com | author = Rich Phillips and John Zarrella | date = 2008-07-01 | accessdate = 2008-07-23]

References

External links

* [http://www.lennar.com/ Lennar Corporation official web site]