by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
In a move to enhance the company’s presence in the building community, Richard R. Dostie New Home Collection, a leading Jacksonville homebuilder, has been acquired by Toll Brothers, Inc. The new name is Richard R. Dostie, a Toll Brothers Company.
“Toll Brothers was aware that Jacksonville is a strong and expanding market and saw the opportunity to grow its business,” said Richard Dostie, vice president of Toll Jacksonville Limited Partnership.
In order to move into the Jacksonville market and create an immediate presence, the Toll Brothers decided to buy and already existing and successful company and merge with them.
“A growing trend among the nation’s largest builders is to purchase successful local builders with a proven track record, a strong management team and an excellent knowledge of the local market in order to gain an immediate presence in the marketplace without having to start an organization from scratch thereby eliminating a five to seven year growing process,” said Dostie.
However, Dostie does not feel that it is the trend for small local builders to sell out to national builders.
“I do think that in some markets and price points, small builders will have a tougher time competing with larger builders,” said Dostie. “However, small builders do maintain some advantages and must use their local knowledge and business skills to their benefit. The sale of any company is a business decision based on many factors.”
The merger was finalized in September.
“Together we will follow a slow, but organized strategy to meld our two companies and utilize the best that each can offer the other,” said Dostie. “The process will be deliberate and calculated to maximize our strength.”
The company will continue to build in all existing communities that Dostie is involved in while still actively pursuing new opportunities.
“Toll Brothers, under the name Richard R. Dostie, a Toll Brothers Company will bring a national reputation to Jacksonville under its tag line, America’s Luxury Builder,” said Dostie. “We will soon unveil a new product and gradually merge the best of Richard R. Dostie, Inc. and Toll Brothers, Inc. to provide superior housing product for Jacksonville, Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.”
Dostie says Realtors will reap the benefits of the new company by having the opportunity to have new products to sell and exciting new marketing ideas.
“The Toll Brothers chose the Jacksonville market because they feel Northeast Florida is an emerging market with ample land supply providing the opportunity to create new exciting communities,” said Dostie.
Toll Brothers, Inc. started building in Florida in 1995 and now builds in 21 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
“We are very excited to be joining with Richard Dostie and his spectacular team in the fast-growing Jacksonville area,” said Robert I. Toll, chairman and chief executive officer of Toll Brothers, Inc. “The demographics of the Florida market offer tremendous long-term growth opportunities. We entered Florida in 1995. This fiscal year we expect to deliver $230 million of homes in the state, not including the Jacksonville market. Since our fiscal year ends on Oct. 31, we do not expect this acquisition to have an impact on earnings in 2003. Due to purchase accounting, we believe the acquisition will be modestly accretive in 2004.”
The Toll Brothers headquarters is in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia. In Florida, Toll Brothers currently builds on the southwest coast in Lee, Collier, and Sarasota Counties, and on the southeast coast in Martin and Palm Beach Counties. To date, Toll Brothers is most noted in Florida for its Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course communities, including Naples Lakes Country Club, Frenchman’s Reserve in the Palm Beach area and Mizner Country Club in the Boca Raton area.
Toll Brothers, Inc. began business in 1967 and became a public company in 1986. The company serves move-up, empty nester, active-adult and second-home homebuyers.
Toll Brothers builds luxury single-family and attached home communities and master-planned luxury multi-product residential golf course communities principally on land it develops and improves.
The company operates its own architectural, engineering, mortgage, title, land development and land sale, golf course development and management, home security, landscape, cable television and broadband Internet delivery subsidiaries.
The company also operates its own lumber distribution, and house component assembly and manufacturing operations.