INDIO, CA-Presidio Residential Capital has partnered with two other firms to acquire Fiesta de Vida, a 656-acre master-planned community approved for 1,459 new homes on the edge of Palm Desert.

The project will focus on removing the golf course component and creating an environment conducive to active, healthy lifestyles. The community will include extensive trails, community gardens and an active park system.

"As economic conditions improve in the Coachella Valley, with job growth and resale home values continuing to increase, the housing market is not keeping up with demand," said Don Faye, principal of Presidio. "Fiesta de Vida will provide an affordable alternative to the nearby Palm Desert area, serving the needs of downsizers, retirees, families and second-home buyers."

One of very few large developments to be approved on one of the last large concentrations of develop-able residential land in the Coachella Valley, Fiesta de Vida is being developed through a partnership between Mana Investments and Touchstone Communities, both of San Diego.

"This is an opportunity to create a master-planned community that the City of Indio will be proud of," said Kerry Garza, CEO of Touchstone. "Our vision is a family-friendly community that has abundant amenities and a diversity of housing for all ages and income levels."

Given the rarity of fully-entitled lots in the Coachella Valley, the new owners plan to function as the master developer and sell lots to merchant builders when they believe market demand is sufficient. If builder interest is as strong as expected, Power says he expects to begin delivering lots at Fiesta de Vida in less than two years.

Fiesta de Vida will feature four traditional single-family-style home villages and an age-restricted neighborhood, all designed to provide residents with maximum valley and mountain views. The community will link traditional, non-age-restricted neighborhoods with an active senior community with a focus on multi-generational gathering places.

In addition to a large linear park, the team will redesign an extensive trail system focused on hiking and mountain biking. All trails will lead to a resort-style community center with a focus on aquatics. The community will be designed with landscaped paseos, tree-lined streets and drought-resistant landscaping.

More than 134 acres of mountainous desert terrain extending into the Indio Hills has been set aside for preservation as undisturbed, natural open space.

The seller of the property is an institutional money manager headquartered in New York, which acquired the property in a portfolio acquisition. The brokers on the transaction were Stone James and Mac O'Donnell of Land Advisors Organization.