Clearwater Communities

What Clearwater Communities does

Clearwater Communities is a privately held, vertically-integrated real estate development company founded in 2009 and headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The company specializes in land development, adaptive reuse, and entitlement work for detached single-family, multifamily, and mixed-use residential communities, operating exclusively across five Southern California counties: Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Its core model involves acquiring land assets (including distressed or partially completed developments), securing entitlements through direct engagement with municipal staff and elected officials, and building communities to sell through on-site sales activities. The platform is structured as an operating partner that co-invests capital alongside landowners, banks, hedge funds, private equity firms, and insurance companies, providing financing, development expertise, and general contracting services.

The company's portfolio includes named communities such as Terra Shores (310 lots, Menifee), Northfork (593 lots, Riverside County), and Ironwood Estates (luxury 5,000 sq ft homes), with additional projects including Shutters, Beechwood, Wyncrest Hills, La Purisima, and San Luis Rey. It operates a small team of 1-10 employees led by founder and CEO Dan Kassel and Executive Vice President Patrick Donahue, both of whom joined from Granite Homes. Revenue is generated through one-time home and lot sales upon community completion; pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by location, floor plan, and market conditions. The company's differentiation rests on its founders' 20+ year regional track record, deep municipal relationships across Southern California, and a flexible, opportunistic deal structure that allows it to participate as co-investor, operating partner, land developer, and/or general contractor on a per-project basis.

Name

Clearwater Communities

Legal name

Clearwater Communities

Website

https://clearwatercommunities.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Clearwater Communities is a Newport Beach-based, vertically-integrated residential real estate developer that acquires land, secures entitlements, and builds single-family, multifamily, and mixed-use communities across five Southern California counties, serving home buyers, landowners, and institutional co-investors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Newport Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Homebuilding and Community Development: Clearwater Communities generates revenue by acquiring land, securing entitlements, developing communities, and building/selling homes. They build detached single-family homes, multifamily, and mixed-use communities. Revenue is realized through home sales and lot sales upon community completion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Clearwater Communities is a vertically-integrated real estate development company that acquires land, secures entitlements, develops residential communities, and builds/sells homes. The company specializes in land development, adaptive reuse, and ground-up construction of detached single-family, multifamily, and mixed-use communities across Southern California. Revenue is realized through home sales and lot sales upon community completion.

Product overview

Clearwater Communities is a real estate development company operating a vertically-integrated platform that offers land acquisition, entitlement, development, and construction services for residential communities. The company specializes in detached single-family homes, multifamily, and mixed-use communities across Southern California (San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties). The portfolio includes named community developments: Terra Shores (310-lot, 13-acre lake community in Menifee), Northfork (593-lot in Riverside County), Ironwood Estates (luxury 5,000 sq ft homes with 4 beds/5 baths), and additional communities including Shutters, Beechwood, Wyncrest Hills, La Purisima, and San Luis Rey. The integrated platform combines financial services, entitlement/property approvals, and construction capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Terra Shores A 310-lot residential community development built around a 13-acre lake in Menifee, California, offering single-family homes in a master-planned setting.
• Northfork A 593-lot residential community development in the Dairy Lands area of Riverside County, California.
• Ironwood Estates A luxury single-family home community featuring homes with 5,000 square feet, 4 bedrooms, and 5 baths, with multiple floor plans.
• Shutters A residential community development by Clearwater Communities.
• Beechwood A residential community development featuring multiple floor plan options with exterior, interior, and room-specific imagery.
• Wyncrest Hills A residential community development by Clearwater Communities.
• La Purisima A residential community development by Clearwater Communities.
• San Luis Rey A residential community development by Clearwater Communities.
• Land Development Services Strategic acquisition and development of land assets that can be entitled or re-entitled to market-driven uses, including lot creation and master planned community development.
• Adaptive Reuse Services Revitalization of existing structures and properties for new residential uses, including picking up broken projects from foreclosure and completing them.
• Entitlement Services Working with city/county staff and politicians, community outreach, engineering, public hearings, permitting, and land planning/density studies to secure necessary approvals.
• Construction Services Project management, budgeting, general contracting with over 20 years of experience, and customer service for community development.
• Financial Services Financial analysis of land use scenarios, attracting capital (debt and equity), and financial reporting capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Developed Terra Shores, a 310-lot community built around a 13-acre lake in Menifee, CA
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Shea Homes: Long-established SoCal homebuilder offering detached single-family and master-planned communities; overlapping product mix, regional footprint, and buyer profile with Clearwater.
• KB Home: Public SoCal-anchored homebuilder with deep entry-level and move-up buyer focus and significant master-planned community activity; competing for similar land, buyers, and entitlements in Southern California.
• FivePoint Holdings: SoCal-focused master-planned community developer (e.g., Great Park Neighborhoods in Irvine); highly comparable to Clearwater's master-planned model in Southern California.
• Meritage Homes: Public homebuilder with strong Western US presence building entry-level and move-up single-family communities; comparable buyer demographic and product cadence to Clearwater's communities.
• Richmond American Homes: Western US-focused homebuilder (subsidiary of M.D.C. Holdings/Sekisui House) with comparable entry-level and move-up single-family community cadence in California.
• TRI Pointe Homes: Large Southern California-based homebuilder with a similar portfolio of single-family and master-planned communities; comparable product/buyer overlap and SoCal geography make TRI Pointe a direct peer for Clearwater's homebuilding operations.

Broad incumbents

• Lennar Corporation: National homebuilder and one of the largest land developers in California; overlaps with Clearwater on SoCal entitlements and home sales but operates at materially larger scale across many product types.
• D.R. Horton: Largest US homebuilder with extensive Southern California presence; competes for the same land tracts and buyer segments, though at much greater scale and capital intensity.
• PulteGroup: National homebuilder with a meaningful SoCal presence across entry-level, move-up, and active adult segments; competing for similar buyer pool and build-for-sale product.
• Taylor Morrison: National homebuilder with Western US single-family and active adult product lines; comparable to Clearwater on detached single-family master-planned communities post-William Lyon acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clearwater Communities