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August 11, 2022 29 mins

On this episode of Investing in the American Dream podcast featured guest Jeff Yamaguchi, Vice President of Real Estate with the Robert Green Company, discusses the new EB-5 investment opportunity, TALUS at the SilverRock resort located in the Coachella Valley in La Quinta California.  In this episode, we discuss project Location, Need/Demand, Construction Status, FPP's Partnership with the Developer, and why this project is perfect for EB-5 Investors.
Contact: Jeff@taluslaquinta.com | Cell: +1 702-510-8231 

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Unknown (00:00):
On today's episode of investing in the American Dream
podcast, we have featured guestJeff Yamaguchi, Vice President
of real estate with RobertGreene company based out of
California. Jeff's background isrooted in the mixed use resort
developments. He's a 42 yearveteran of the hospitality
industry, and has experiencedwith many of the major hotel

(00:22):
brands such as the Four Seasonsmontage and Ritz Carlton just to
name a few. Jeff is joining ustoday to discuss the new EB five
investment opportunity Tallis atthe silver rock resort located
in the Coachella Valley. Andlooking to California is also
joined by FPPS executive vicepresident Dan Wycklendt. Let's

(00:44):
get into it. Hi, Jeff. And Dan,thank you both for joining us
all today to talk about thetalus project.
It's a pleasure. Thank you forthe invitation. Yeah,
absolutely.
Thank you, Dan, as well. Yeah,thanks, Jessica. Um, so
obviously, with the launch ofthis new project Tallis, we've

(01:05):
had a lot of questions aboutlocation. And so Jeff, one of
the you know, I know one of themain criteria that is pretty
important to our investors is,when considering an EB five
investment is the location andwhat that location means to them
into this project. And Tallis islocated in a beautiful area of

(01:25):
California in the CoachellaValley. But those who aren't too
familiar with that area, couldyou tell us more about what is
the draw to look intoCalifornia? And what makes that
area so special? And why is thatconsidered, I guess, the gem of
the desert.
There's a lot of a lot ofhistory behind the Coachella

(01:49):
Valley and its connection toSouthern California. So, you
know, just proximity wise, weare, you know, about a two hour
drive from about 26 millionpeople between Los Angeles,
Orange County, San Diegocounties. So there's a very
strong desire for people to comeout here and you know, use it as

(02:12):
a family vacation or an escapefrom, you know, being in the
city. But in the last, you know,50 years or so, what we found is
that the, the interest firststarted when you had all the
celebrities coming out here,right in the 60s and 70s. And
so, you had the Frank Sinatra asthe dean Martin's the Bob
Hope's, you know, they all haveplaces out here, so, it was kind

(02:35):
of identified with the Hollywoodcrowd. And with all the golf
courses and things that are outhere, it was a natural
playground for them. And, butwhat we found now is, you know,
we have 140 golf courses here inthe Coachella Valley, Coachella
Valley is really, you know, nowreally becoming known for, you

(02:59):
know, it's, it's wellness. A lotof really nice spas are located
out here in the CoachellaValley, you've got agriculture
here, which means that you'vegot farm to table fresh produce.
So all of these kinds of thingsbegin to tie into kind of the
current vibe of people wantingto be in a destination that

(03:23):
meets their lifestyle needs. Andit's not just about golf
anymore, you know, you want togo to the spa, you want to go
have a really nice healthy meal,you want to go to a juice bar,
all of these kinds of things arethings that you know, people are
gravitating towards now. So it'sbecome a much more enriching

(03:44):
experience. And even if youdon't play golf, you're going to
come out here, and you're goingto have a really good time. And
that's why I think a lot ofpeople have chosen over the
course of decades andgenerations of the same family
to live here now, you know, sothat has been one of the things

(04:05):
that we've seen just in the last10 to 15 years, as you know, the
major growth of the CoachellaValley for permanent residents.
Right, right. And then there'sthis huge boom and rise in
tourism in that area. You know,what can you tell us about, you
know, the current accommodationsand amenities and the need for

(04:27):
those with all of theseattractions in that area? And
what are what are tourists youknow, like, what are those
trends and what do you expectthem to be for that Coachella
Valley areadespite the fact that you know,
the summers get really hot theit's a very outdoors type
community, right? So people areout here walking, they're

(04:49):
hiking, they're, they're playinggolf. And, you know, there's
there's a real desire for peopleto connect with nature. Sure,
when you're living in, you know,la Orange County, San Diego,
there's not a lot of naturethere for the most part.
Whereas, you know, here you'vegot, you know, some, some really
amazing venues that allow you toconnect with animals and flora

(05:13):
and fauna and agriculture andall the things that this area
was known for 100 years ago, so,this place out here called the
Living Desert, which is it's nota zoo, but it really what it is,
is it allows you to interactwith, you know, all kinds of
animals that are related todesert climates, you know,

(05:35):
you've got giraffes, you've gotcamels, you know, you've got
llamas, you've got all thesereally interesting, you know,
creatures out here that, youknow, you don't really get a
chance to interact with whenyou're living in Los Angeles. So
those are the kinds of thingsthat people they want unique
experiences, you know, and it's,it's one of the things that

(05:58):
draws people out here is to beable to do something different
from where they live. But justfrom a data standpoint, I pulled
the state up this morning. Andso I was looking at Palm Springs
International Airport. And soin, in the entire calendar year
of 2021. There were 1,045,000people that got off a plane at

(06:23):
Palm Springs InternationalAirport for the whole year.
Through June of this year, we'vehad 821,000. Okay, so in half
the year, we've had 80%, of whatwe had last year, people showing
up. So therefore casting rightnow that, you know, it's going

(06:45):
to probably ended up beingsomewhere at 1.5 to 1.6 million,
which is a record for theCoachella Valley for Palm
Springs, right? The highestnumber had like 1.3 million,
over the course of the year,we're probably going to hit 1.5

(07:06):
to 1.6. So when you couple thatwith the number of people that
are driving, and coming out fromyou know, coming out from the
coast, the desert is reallythriving.
And how and how are theaccommodations currently? And

(07:26):
how is that? Is it suited to fitthat demand?
Well, it's got some challenges.
There. They're in 2003. As anexample, there were about 14,000
hotel rooms in the valley. As oflast year, there are still
14,000 Hotel in the valley.

(07:50):
Okay, so there has not been alot of resort, hotel development
growth. So all these extrapeople, where are they staying?
Well, they're all staying inAirbnb s and, you know,
individual homes, right. So sothat's what's, you know,
supported all of theseadditional folks that are that
are coming out here. And I thinkthat's why we're really excited

(08:15):
to be able to come into themarket, at a really good time,
when there's going to be aninflux of, of individuals, and
same time there, they're goingto be looking for high end
accommodations. So we think thetiming is really good.
Yeah, I agree. I think thisproject is really well suited
for that area. And foreverything that's going on,

(08:35):
especially, you know, with thetransition to you know, how many
people are now visiting thatarea and attending events like
Coachella, and the, you know,country music festivals, and you
see so much of that going on,and it's that's not going away,
that's going to continue to growand be huge. So I think that's

(08:57):
why to this product is it's justso needed for that area, and
it's the perfect accommodationfor the people who are attending
those events.
I would definitely agree withyou. I mean, we're located we're
located literally two blocksfrom the polo fields. So I mean,
you could walk from here toCoachella or stagecoach. And

(09:18):
that's going to be a huge drawfor folks that are gonna be
coming out here in the spring.
You know, when we talk about itbeing in the desert, so then I
guess also, if you can tell uslike, how does the drought play
into effect when you when youtalk about the desert? I'm sure
that's a question you probablyget all the time. You know, when
people think of the desert, theythink of water scarcity. What is

(09:42):
the real situation there in thedesert?
Well, there's a there's a coupleof things for me to address
there. The I know that there's alot of talk about drought in
California. What is ironic isthat in the desert, we really
don't have that problem. Thereis a aquifer that's about 100 to

(10:02):
120 feet down from here, it isabout 39 million acre feet of
water. Okay, 39 million acrefeet of water, according to the
Coachella Valley Water Districtis enough water to supply the
entire Coachella Valley for thenext 100 years if it didn't

(10:23):
rain, one more drop. So, so whenyou when you think about that we
are not in the same situation asyou know, a San Francisco or you
know, some of the other biggercities because we do not rely on
a runoff from the Sierramountains. So we're not what
we're most concerned about. Outhere is actually, you know,

(10:46):
making sure that we take thevery best care of the water that
we have. But it's certainly notin a situation where we have to
worry about running out of wateranytime. So, so I think that's
one of the misnomers that peoplehave about the deserts like, oh,
my gosh, it's so dry. And butthat's the one thing that we

(11:09):
find is that these these majorcities out here, the Latinos,
the Indios, and the palmdeserts, you know, they're
they're planning more resorts,they're planning to put in
resorts that have 29 acre lakes.
Okay, so they there's no waythat they would be able to pass
that, if they thought that oh,my gosh, we're running out of

(11:30):
water.
Exactly. Um, so I know, youknow, we touched on some really
great points about like, thereal estate and why that's going
to be so successful there. Sohow is Tallis? You know, it's a
project, its development in thedesert, how is that going to be
different than some of the otherprojects that currently exist,

(11:51):
or some of the otheraccommodations that exist?
So. So with regards to themarket, and how talus is
different, let me first go backand say that the name Tallis was
selected because it had a veryliteral meaning to our location.
So the word Tallis actuallymeans a gathering of rocks and

(12:14):
rock fragments at the base of amountain, which is exactly where
we're located. We're locatedright up against the Santa Rosa
mountain range. So so to be ableto talk about the fact that,
that our name actually reflectsthe fact where we're located I
think, is important. We, what isinteresting about this market

(12:36):
for hotels, is that I was herein 1989. When we opened the JW
Marriott in Palm Desert, that isthe most recent hotel opening of
a major hotel opening. So it'sbeen 30 plus years, since since
another hotel has been opened.
Right? That's incredible.

(12:57):
That's, that's a long time. Sothe fact that we're bringing,
you know, the montage and thePendry brands to Makita is
pretty special, because peoplehave been waiting for something
like this for years. And, youknow, I can't tell you how many
local residents I run into, whosay to me, Jeff, thank goodness,

(13:21):
you guys are building this, wewe've been needing something
like this and Makita for a longtime. So that is that's, that
tells you something about, youknow, the depth of the market in
terms of, you know, what'savailable, versus you know, how
many people want to come here.
And oftentimes they'll say, youknow, hey, I'd love to have my
friends come out, but I got noplace really nice to put them

(13:45):
in. Right? So So we feel thatbringing this level of
hospitality to the desert andMakita is going to pay dividends
very quickly. Because so manypeople have been waiting for
this.
And this is the first time thatthese two ultra luxury brands

(14:07):
have been combined on one resortto provide that upscale luxury
living.
That's correct. And it actuallymakes sense when you stop and
think about it because they're,they're owned by the same
company. Right? They're, they'rethe same. They're the same level
of experience. But they're justa little bit different. So for

(14:28):
instance, you know, people havebeen coming out here with their
families for decades, right?
People have said, Oh my gosh,you know, I used to come out
there with my, my dad or mygrandfather and play golf, bla
bla bla, now they're coming backout here with their kids. What
we find is they're saying, Hey,this is great, because now my
parents can go stay at themontage. And I can go stay with
my family at the pendrey. And wedon't have to worry about

(14:51):
stepping on each other. Right?
But it allows us to get togetherand and have dinner or play a
round of golf or, you know, gofor a hike or whatever. But, you
know, we're not constantly ontop of each other staying in the
same place. And I think thatreally, really works with the
target demographic that we'regoing after.

(15:13):
Yeah, I agree, I think that'sit's great to be able to
accommodate in that in thatmanner, you know, and still have
everything all in one place, butgive each other their space, you
know, when you have the youngerdemographic with their, with
their kids, and then you have,you know, the parents,
grandparents, they kind of wanttheir own space, I think you
spoke to that perfectly. And Iknow that this project, you

(15:34):
know, it's sitting on anexisting site that was or is the
silver rock golf course. And,you know, obviously, it's all
under construction, which isgreat. But what makes I guess,
silver rock golf course,different from the other golf
courses in that area?
Well, the silver rock golfcourse was actually built 17

(15:55):
years ago, was built in 2005.
It's an Arnold Palmer designedgolf course, it was actually on
the rotation for what was backthen the Bob Hope Invitational
on the PGA Tour, it was I thinkit was three years that the golf
course was part of that event.
And what what's really importanthere is the fact that this golf

(16:17):
course remains open to thepublic. And so, you know, we,
you know, we've got tons of golfcourses in the area, but we are
surrounded by private golfclubs. So so, you know, we're
really excited to be able to,you know, have a hospitality
component associated with a golfcourse that people can play, you

(16:39):
know, anytime they come out hereand stay. And I think that for
those individuals who are comingfor a golf vacation, this is a
very, very enjoyable course, toplay. And, you know, because of
the fact it's, it's public, the,it's priced very reasonably to
Yeah, I'veseen pictures of the golf
course, I haven't been outthere, obviously yet myself. But
I've also seen too, you know,when you talked earlier about

(17:01):
the animals, that the the Ramsactually come down off of the
mountain, and kind of walkthrough the the golf course. So
that's a pretty cool experienceto get to see that as well,
while you're out thereon the golf. Bighorn sheep are a
major attraction out here,especially in the summertime,
you know, they all they comedown from the mountain and they,

(17:22):
they graze and they hang outunderneath the shade of the
trees. So we see quite a few ofthese roaming around on the golf
course, I was playing golf theother day. And literally, I had
to wait about three or fourminutes while the bighorn sheep
crossed the green. So and it'sone of those things that they're

(17:46):
they're part of the they're partof the natural beauty of Makita.
Well, Jeff, I know you've had along history of working with
Robert Greene, you know, datingback over 20 years. I guess,
just kind of switching gears alittle bit. What can you tell us
about the Robert Greene companyand having a reputation for

(18:07):
being a world class developer?
You know, what are some of themore well known past projects,
Robert, and I go back to the ohmy gosh, that early 90s. Right.
We we developed the Four Seasonsin San Diego Aviar, which is no
longer four seasons, but weopened that in the mid 90s. We

(18:31):
then open the Four Seasons inJackson Hole in 1999. So I've
done a couple of really niceprojects with him. He's also
done the the pantry. The veryfirst Pendry hotel was done in
downtown San Diego that wasopened in May believe in 2017.
We develop the montage inHealdsburg in wine country that

(18:55):
opened in 2020. He's also donefour seasons in Napa Valley.
He's also done the Kimpton inHollywood. So he has a very long
history of working with reallynotable hospitality brands and
delivering, you know, incredibleexperiences for their guests.

(19:19):
Now, the interesting story forme not only connected with
Robert is the founder and CEO ofmontage, Alan Firstman, Alan
Furman, and I go back to the JWMarriott in Palm Desert, where
he was the general manager ofthe hotel. And I was the general

(19:39):
manager of the timesharedevelopment at Desert Springs.
So So you know, Alan, and I goback to the late 80s Back here
in the desert, so to be able towork with him now on a project
like this and this destinationis pretty special because We,

(20:00):
you know, I really have anaffinity for the desert. And I
know that he feels very stronglyabout the potential for this
market. So I think thecombination of having Allen and
Robert working together isreally, really unique. Because
they're both extremely talentedpeople, and they have great

(20:22):
vision, they know what acustomer really wants, and kind
of what that level of experienceneeds to be. So to be able to
work with them both on this anddeliver it is going to be pretty
spectacular.
Yeah, it sounds like you'repretty excited to be a part of
that team. And I know, I know,Dan, my questions have been more

(20:43):
towards Jeff. But, you know,Dan, I'd like to know, you know,
FPP is really excited to beworking with the Robert Greene
company. But how is this strongpartnership and experience going
to benefit our investors on theEB five side? Well, I
think first, I mean, it'samazing, every time I hear Jeff
speak about the project oranything, and not only do I

(21:06):
learn something new, but it getsme excited all over again, to be
working with him. And, andRobert and his team, because,
you know, for us, when we'relooking for a partner on EB
five, you know, we want someonewith a track record and a
history and when you hear, youknow, Jeff's history with Robert
and the Robert Greene company,and his background, you know,

(21:26):
having somebody with thatunderstanding of, you know, what
a project like this really needsto make it successful,
ultimately, that that's what wewant for our investors, because
in Eb five, you know, it's goodpartners all the way around,
people are paired together for along time. And, and the Robert
Green company has this longhistory, long partnerships, and

(21:47):
they've been successful on EBfive before, you know, like Jeff
said, The Pendry in San Diego.
It's definitely one of myfavorite hotels. So I think when
when you see things like that,and then we have the opportunity
to partner with them on apendrey and montage together in
this Tallis project, it's it'ssuper exciting for us. And it's
really exciting for investors.

(22:08):
And I guess, since we're kind oftalking more about like EB five
fit. You know, I guess, Dan, myquestions are going to be more
specific to regarding you know,why you believe this project
talus is, is the perfect fit forinvestors. You know, we've heard
such amazing things from Jeffabout the location and the need
and the demand generated bytourism. But what are some other

(22:29):
important factors, you know,that our investors should know
about with this project?
With EB five, you definitelywant an exciting project, right?
I mean, you know, everythingJeff said, makes this project
exciting, but there are so manyspecifics to Eb five, that what
we like to do is, is before theexcitement, we like to check off

(22:50):
those boxes. And, and for us,this project just hit
everything, you know, forinstance, location, right,
there's been a lot of changes, Ithink, you know, you've talked
about in the past on some ofyour other podcasts with some of
your guests, the changes to Ebfive over the past couple of
years. Ta is a huge one, right?
Ta for this one, it's one censustrack. And you know, what the

(23:13):
new rules for EB five, we havethe same census tract
grandfathered in for the nexttwo years, so investors know
that they can invest it again,what used to be 500k, but it's
now 800k, the lower dollaramount and qualify for EB five.
So that's definitely one bigthing for us right away. Second,
though, is job creation, right?

(23:38):
You know, EB five people likethese investments for investment
purpose, but also, they'reinvesting to get a green card.
And if they don't create theproper jobs, that's not going to
happen for them. And, you know,first pathway partners has 100%
success rate on getting peoplethat permanent green card, and
we want to keep it that way. Sothis project, really make sure

(24:00):
we're going to protect peoplethat way. I think on this one,
we have 135 investors we'retaking under this project, so 10
jobs per family, that's 1300 50jobs needed. And, you know, we
have to do the next reportcoming up. But I believe by
September 30 with theconstruction that's been done,
we'll have created those 1300 50jobs that are necessary for

(24:24):
people to get their green cardand as we're starting to file
applicants now as an investorknowing that you already have
those jobs created in thisproject, that's huge because
ultimately, that's what ensuresthem that green card
Yeah, anything to do with italready been under construction
like you said and having some ofthose drop jobs already created.

(24:45):
You know, it's just it's likethat extra perk right with this
project to show you know, and wedo have There are live feed
cameras, too. So I know youknow, there are always some
questions you know, is thishappen? Seeing what's going on.
And so it's great to be able toprovide that reassurance that
yes, you know, this does exist,these these cameras are there

(25:07):
there, there are constructioncrews there on a regular basis.
And also, you know, if ifclients or agents or attorneys
are interested, you know, incoming to see the project site,
you know, we can always makethat available for them as well.
Yeah, I think, you know, Jeffdoes a really nice job. And I, I
don't want to volunteer him fortours all the time. But, you

(25:31):
know, we got some great feedbackfrom some of our investors that
were recently there, to checkout the project, see what's
there. And, and like you said,just the fact that it's under
construction, it's something tosee, you know, you not only get
the beautiful setting of themountains in the valley there,
but you also can see it goingup. And I mean, that's a huge
deal for our investors to knowthat that's happening to know

(25:52):
that it's moving forward. Andthen also be able to see the
vision that's there, you know,we do encourage people to visit
there. And, Jeff, we reallyappreciate what you're doing for
our investors when they come.
And I'm in sales. Guys. Also,tell me what you need done, I
will sell it right.
Yeah, well, we appreciate youbeing available and able to meet

(26:13):
with anyone who'd like to comeout and see the site.
Just for for us at FPP. I mean,we see a lot of different
projects. And I mean, youclearly know we've done a lot of
different projects. But this isdefinitely the most exciting
project we have. Because, youknow, it's the partnership with
Robert Greene company and histeam. It's the location, it's

(26:35):
the brand, it's the excitementbehind it. I mean, this is a 600
plus million dollar project, youknow, an EB five just makes up a
fraction of that, less than 18%.
So we're excited to be part ofsuch a big endeavor for the
Robert Green company, but alsoone that's already underway
already creating jobs, and getspeople on their way to getting

(26:56):
the green card as quickly aspossible.
Exactly. Damn, Jeff, is thereanything else you'd like to
touch on? Before we wrap up?
You know, I would just say that,because, you know, the Coachella
Valley is is, you know, asecondary market. You know, it's
not necessarily in Los Angelesor San Diego, but there is a

(27:19):
tremendous amount of wealth inthe Coachella Valley. You know,
some of the most, some of thebiggest billionaires in the
world live out here. And whatwe're finding is that more and
more they need restaurants, theyneed hotels, they need all these

(27:42):
kinds of experiences that helpto kind of augment their
lifestyle. And we're reallyexcited to be able to, you know,
bring something that's new andand I have told our partners
that montage and Pendry theminute we opened the very first
venue, it will be standingremotely. It there was no doubt

(28:05):
in my mind, you know, we live orour development is with within
two miles of Tallis. Okay, thereare approximately 10,000 homes,
which means you could get in agolf cart and drive over here.

(28:26):
Okay. And so there is a I thinkthat not only do you have the
depth of the market, the numberof rooftops the number of people
who live here, but I thinkagain, the strong desire to be
in the desert, to have a littlebit more space away from the
city. And the to be able to havea different experience will make

(28:48):
this project very, verysuccessful. I have no there's no
doubt in my mind.
Well, Jeff, Dan, you know, Iboth I appreciate both of you
taking the time to sit down anddiscuss the Tallis project with
us. And you know, definitelylook forward to seeing you in
California.
Yes, anytime. If anybody has anyinterest in coming out see the

(29:09):
project. I'm happy to come back.
And we will share your contactinformation and Deon, your
contact information as well.
Yeah, just thanks for hearingthis. And Jeff, thanks for all
you do. Wereally my pleasure. Thank you.
If you would like to know moreabout first pathway partners,
and how they can help you with adirect EB five investment or if

(29:32):
you're looking for other visaopportunities, such as an E two
visa, please contact themdirectly online at www dot first
pathway.com
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