1/17/10 Letter to the Editor - Albuquerque Business First
When the process began in 2008, every effort was made to attract HGTV to New Mexico to consider the mountain site as a viable option for the 2010 promotional home. HGTV insisted upon professional standards and did extensive research in the selection of the site.
Part of the process to attract the Dream Home and finalize the deal was a guarantee to HGTV that we would buy back the home for $1.5 million, if the winner chose to receive cash instead of the Dream Home. This is a speculative investment, with risks and rewards that the builder asked to share in. When it came time to close the deal with HGTV, the builder withdrew from the investment opportunity and we took on sole financial responsibility for the HGTV Dream Home.
In the Dec. 17, 2009 New Mexico Business Weekly article, “HGTV’s New Mexico Dream Home sullied with a lawsuit,” it was reported that the builder filed a lawsuit claiming San Pedro Overlook owed him payments for the Dream Home.
When the builder removed himself from the financial commitment with us, his status changed from investor/partner to contractor, like many other contractors for the HGTV Dream Home. San Pedro Overlook (a Campbell Corp. affiliate) paid the builder’s receipts and costs, as well as those of the other contractors, and certainly never anticipated the contractor would demand a return on an investment that was never made.
In the current real estate environment, there is significant risk in taking on a speculative home investment given the state of the market, particularly for high-end specialty homes. There are no assurances that we’ll be able to recoup the costs of the home. So it surprised us that the builder would hire an attorney to bring a meritless lawsuit against San Pedro Overlook claiming he was due additional money as part of the deal with HGTV, especially when he was unable to make good on his financial commitment and not an actual party to our deal with HGTV.
San Pedro Overlook and its community partner, East Mountain High School, are excited to bring national attention to our community, the beauty of the surrounding lands and the special qualities of New Mexico culture. We anticipate that thousands of out-of-state visitors will tour the HGTV Dream Home and contribute tourism dollars to New Mexico businesses, not to mention the incredible national exposure for our state. All net proceeds of the tour will benefit East Mountain High School. HGTV estimates that 40 million people will view the Dream Home on TV and enter the sweepstakes to win at www.hgtv.com. Further, a 360-degree virtual tour of the HGTV Dream home is now online at www.HGTV.com/dreamhome.
I hope everyone who reads this will take this opportunity to heart and visit the Dream Home at San Pedro Overlook. Tours are $20 and are facilitated by East Mountain High School. Call 281-7400 for tour information.
In the same spirit of good corporate citizenship, Campbell Corp. previously donated land in the East Mountains for San Antonito Elementary School and granted a 625-acre nature preserve in the East Mountains to the Nature Conservancy.
Let’s move forward on making the HGTV Dream Home an opportunity to showcase New Mexico to the world.
Robert Gately
President and CEO Campbell Corp.