Nature Lover, Land Owner, Developer

Nature Lover, Land Owner, Developer

By Gaurav Ghose

Staff Writer

Life's mystery still holds Clearwater-based developer Maurice Wilder in thrall. Born and raised on a farm in Decatur, Ill., he says, "I like to see the corn come up, see it grow, harvested - I like to see the nature play."

Wilder tries to escape to one of his farms every six weeks to break up "the monotony of daily life in Clearwater," he says. But it's not all pleasure. He's also ensuring his eight farms and three ranches run efficiently.

After all, Wilder, who started out three decades ago as a mobile home salesman in Illinois, owns about 140,000 acres of corn and soybean farms and buffalo and cattle ranches in five states from North and South Dakota to Texas. At his South Dakota Timber Lake Ranch, lodge guests can hunt for elk or buffalo, a rarity for the average hunter.

In 1982, Wilder, 62, founded Wilder Corp. His holdings - now worth an estimated $500 million - include 10 office buildings in the Tampa Bay area with more than a million square feet of office space; the three-star Wyndham Harbour Island, which he bought last month; 4,500 lots at mobile homes parks and 12,500 lots at recreational vehicle parks in Florida and Texas; and commercial land investments in Florida, North Carolina, Illinois, Missouri and Texas.

At one time, his portfolio included a Plant City ostrich farm, which imported red ostrich eggs from Namibia and Israel. But he closed it down seven years ago after he lost money on the venture.

Humble beginnings

Wilder, who has a high school degree, began his career in Decatur where he worked for a mobile home dealer selling mobile homes after he got out of the U.S. Army in 1957.

In 1964, he founded Mobile Home Parts Inc. to sell mobile homes. But he says it was not the financing, provided by General Electric, that gave him the courage to go alone. It was a couple of men-"my first salesmen, loyal and honest"-who were responsible for the business taking off. And they were, he says, as much a part of the dream and excitement when he started.

In 1970, he began buying and selling land, mostly for commercial purposes - mobile home parks, RV resorts and retail. He holds onto his farmlands and ranches - those have simply gone on adding up.

In 2000, he has sold more than 7,000 acres of wetlands in the Illinois River Valley to the Nature Conservancy for $18.5 million. But he's still awaiting an acceptable offer from the Indiana state government for the 8,000-acre Goose Pond, considered one of the significant waterfowl use areas in that state.

A $12 million sale on a retail parcel in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas should be closed in a couple of months, he says.

In the past few years, he began investing in residential subdivisions, which are becoming an attractive part of his portfolio.

In Riverview, he owns a 78-lot subdivision. On Sligh Avenue in Tampa, he is building a 40-lot subdivision. Outside Tampa, he has bought 750 acres for another subdivision. Just outside St. Louis, Mo., he has invested in a 205-lot subdivision, and near Ashville in North Carolina's Maggie Valley, he has bought about 700 acres to develop a 190-lot subdivision.

Selling land, he says, brings its own set of challenges.

Wilder's effort to sell the Cypress Pointe RV Resort in Palm Harbor was a lesson well learnt. First there were plans to sell it to Target, then Lowe's and then Wal-Mart - all were opposed by nearby residents and the Pinellas commissioners. Finally, he sold it to a residential property developer.

Office Properties

Wilder constructed his first office building, the Wilder Center at 300 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd., Clearwater, in 1987 for his headquarters, which occupy the sixth and topmost floor.

His success with that building sparked his interest in other office properties. He has since invested in office complexes on both sides of Tampa Bay. His 10 office properties, including the Wilder Center, have occupancy rates from the high 80s to the high 90s.

"He is what I would say an old school negotiator," says John Gerlach, vice president at Colliers Arnold, which has brokered some of the office properties bought by Wilder, including Parc Center in Brandon, one of Wilder's most recent acquisitions. "He looks at the quality of the building and the quality of the location, rather than doing a long term financial analysis."

Wilder has not yet sold any of his office properties. In 2002-2003, when leasing of office space in Tampa Bay was stagnant and recovery slow, he says, he wasn't concerned. He was confident the market would rebound, a fact vindicated by the 5% growth in the occupancy rates in the past year.

Gerlach is not surprised that Wilder office properties exceed market performance. The most important reason, he says, is Wilder's ability to make quick decisions without going into a lengthy process involving several committees.

Investment finance for the office properties, Wilder say, is a 50-50 affair. He puts down 50% and takes a loan for the remainder. And with so many major properties in his name now, he says he has no problems raising money.

His goal, of course, is to buy low and sell high.

The bottom line in any business is the return on your investment, he says, adding: "If you play golf, you keep score by points; in our business we keep score by the amount of money you make."

He says the company had $80 million in revenue in 2004-2005 fiscal year. He declined to discuss net income.

Help from others

He attributes his company's success to his employees. "People are everything," Wilder says. "You have the brick, mortar and glass, but if you don't have good reliable people you don't have anything."

He points out the contribution of one and all, including his managers, division managers and the farm workers at each of his sites. But he singles out Mary Carotenuto, executive vice president and attorney for the company, and Dan O'Brien, the head administrator for the agricultural division. Both work in Clearwater.

Carotenuto, who has been with Wilder for five years, oversees the lease agreements and other related legal issues with the tenants, plus any other tenant problems.

She describes Wilder's management as "very hands on." The two usually meet twice a day to mostly discuss issues outside the day-to-day regular parameters, such as leasing rates, allowances and improvements of amenities offered to the tenants.

Wilder, a strict believer in the direct owner property management team concept, has managers in charge of each office property. They report to him directly. The exception is the Wyndham hotel, which is run by a management company.

Keeping properties well maintained is a challenge, Wilder says.

At The Atrium, there was a massive water leak in September 2004 that closed the building for 11 days and his manager took care of it immediately. The company remodeled parts of The Atrium and Airport Executive Center by adding executive suites in February.

Wilder considers himself a problem solver and if there are problems, for example, faced by his tenants, Wilder sees to it they're resolved.

"If you don't take care of things immediately, it is bound to turn for the worse," he says.

His twin beliefs in the honesty and integrity of people and solving problems right away are perhaps no more evident than in his operations outside office properties. Other than the 15 employees who work at the Wilder Center, the company's remaining 385 employees work at far flung places managing mobile home parks, RV resorts and farms and buying and selling land.

Prior to the finalization of any deal, Wilder personally visits the site, whether it's retail, residential or agricultural. He says he especially relies on his farm workers.

"Nowadays it is really hard to get people who are willing to work in agriculture," he says. "Getting good labor is hard - that is the real problem."

He leased out 12,000 acres of farmland in Nebraska because of a labor shortage, he says, adding he's considering a decrease in his farm production activities elsewhere.

Lately, Wilder's attention is on a new project: an experiment with wind-generated electricity. "That is where the future is and it will provide the cheapest electricity," he says.

With government subsidy help, Wilder has entered into a deal with General Electric to set up towers to record wind velocity. He has bought about 60,000 acres in North and South Dakota for the experiment.

One more foray into a new area further diversifying his portfolio. Not surprising for a man who says "the dream of tomorrow is better than the history of yesterday."

Not that all is business for Wilder.

Wilder, who has visited 30 countries, was preparing in early May for another trip to Africa, a three-week safari with his wife.

WILDER HOLDINGS

Mobile Home/RV Parks

•Alamo Rose – Alamo, Texas

• Bayside Trailer, Clearwater

• Blue Parrot – Lady Lake, Fl.

• Buena Vista – Pharr, Texas

• Fort Myers – Fort Myers, FL.

• Hacienda Heights – Riverview

• Hawaiian Isles – Ruskin

• La Plaza – Clearwater

• Oak Springs – Port Richey

• Palm View Gardens – Zephyrhills

• Park Place Estates – Harlingen, Texas

• Pioneer Creek – Bowling Green, Fl.

• Rice Creek – Riverview

• Southern Aire – Thonotosassa

• Sundance Lakes – Port Richey

• Sunshine Village – Lakeland

• Texas Trails – Pharr, Texas

• The Springs – Silver Springs

• Tip-O-Texas – Pharr, Texas

• Trophy Gardens – Alamo, Texas

• Tropic Star – Pharr, Texas

• Tropical Acres – Zephyrhills

• Wilder Haven – Decatur, Ill.

• Winter Ranch – Alamo, Texas

Office Buildings

• Airport Executive Center – Tampa

• The Atrium – Clearwater

• Bank Building – Largo

• Crossings – Clearwater

• Clearwater Towers – Clearwater

• French Quarter West – Decatur, Ill.

• Westwood Center – Tampa

• Knight Point – Tampa

• Wilder Office Center – Clearwater

• Wyndham Hotel – Tampa

• AmeriLife – Clearwater

• Parc Centre –Tampa

Car wash (2) – Largo and Tampa

Farms

• Havana Farm – Havana, Ill.

• Colorado/Nebraska – Wray, Colo.

• Met Tower & Equipment – Wray, Colo.

• Dalhart Farm – Dalhart, Texas

• Kruse Farm - Dalhart, Texas

• Wilder Grain - Dalhart, Texas

• New Boston Farm – New Boston, Ill.

• Hog facility – Linton, Ind.

Ranches

• South Dakota Ranch – McLaughlin, S.D.

• Thorstenson Ranch – Mobridge, S.D.

• Elk Ranch – Timberlake, S.D.