Colorado Growth 1 - Holly Ridge DST Overview
Colorado Growth 1 - Holly Ridge DST is a Delaware statutory trust sponsored by an affiliate of Walton Global Holdings, LLC that offers accredited investors beneficial interests in a single, unleveraged pre-development land investment. The Trust intends to acquire a fee-simple interest in approximately 70.5 acres of agricultural land at the northwest corner of State Highway 7 and Holly Street in unincorporated Adams County, Colorado, within the northern Denver metropolitan area. The land sits in the growth path of the City of Thornton and is designated for potential single-family residential use under Thornton's Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use map, though it is currently zoned A-3 (Agricultural) and must still be annexed into the City and entitled before it can be developed or sold to a homebuilder. The offering raises up to $6,469,972, representing 100% of the Interests, with a $100,000 minimum investment for both Section 1031 exchangers and cash investors, sold under Rule 506(c) of Regulation D. The Property will be acquired all-cash and free and clear of any mortgage for a purchase price of $4,500,000. The business plan follows Walton's long-standing land-banking strategy: acquire undeveloped land in a path of growth, maintain and pursue entitlements over an anticipated four-to-five-year hold (which may be longer), and ultimately negotiate a sale to a homebuilder or developer, with investor returns realized on land appreciation rather than current income. During the hold the Property is subject only to a nominal agricultural lease, so the offering produces essentially no operating cash flow. The DST is designed so that each investor is treated as owning a direct interest in the Property for Section 1031 purposes, allowing the Interests to serve as replacement property in a 1031 exchange. The offering suits accredited 1031 exchangers seeking long-term capital-appreciation exposure to residential development land in a growing market, who have no need for current income or liquidity and who can bear the risk of a total loss of their investment.
Highlights
The Property is positioned in one of the Denver metropolitan area's most active northern growth corridors, in unincorporated Adams County within the City of Thornton's growth management area. Thornton had a 2022 census population of roughly 144,799, a median age of 34, and a median household income near $95,064, while neighboring Westminster adds another approximately 115,502 residents; both are part of the greater Denver MSA of more than three million people and are connected by Interstate 25. The site sits near major infrastructure, including E-470 and the RTD N-Line commuter rail extension serving Thornton, where a Denver Union Station to Eastlake/124th trip is estimated at about 27 minutes. Strong household incomes (roughly 63.6% of area households earn more than $100,000 annually) and a City of Thornton median home value around $569,045 support continued demand for new single-family housing in the path of the Property.
The Property is a contiguous, approximately 70.5-acre parcel of agricultural land held in fee simple at the northwest corner of State Highway 7 and Holly Street, currently used for farming and surrounded by agricultural and residential uses. Its scale and location make it a candidate for master-planned single-family detached development: it is designated on Thornton's Future Land Use map as eligible for single-family residential, and the Sponsor has commissioned a Conceptual Site Plan, an Entitlement Memo, and third-party wetlands, endangered-species, geotechnical, and Phase I environmental studies to support future entitlement. The land is unencumbered by tenants beyond a nominal agricultural lease, sits in FEMA Flood Zone X (outside the 0.2% floodplain) and low-seismic Zone 1, and per the Phase I carries no identified recognized environmental conditions, giving a relatively clean physical foundation for the planned residential business plan.
The offering is entirely unleveraged. The Trust will acquire the Property free and clear with no mortgage, funding the $4,500,000 purchase price from Offering proceeds and a Depositor capital contribution, so the loan-to-value ratio is 0% and there is no balloon maturity, refinancing, or lender-foreclosure risk at the property level. The maximum raise of $6,469,972 represents 100% of the beneficial interests and is entirely equity. Because there is no debt service, the Trust is not exposed to interest-rate movements on borrowings or to loan covenant defaults, and investors cannot lose the asset to a lender. The Trust also funds an operating and property-tax reserve of roughly $389,000 to cover carrying costs such as taxes, insurance, and asset-management expenses during the hold, which reduces the likelihood of a capital call while the land is held pre-development. This all-cash posture is a defensively attractive contrast to leveraged DSTs.
The Sponsor, Walton Global Holdings, LLC (the Walton Group of Companies), has specialized in land-based investment strategies for retail and institutional investors since 1979 and reports roughly 93,000 acres under management across North America, with offices spanning Phoenix/Scottsdale and Denver as well as numerous other U.S., Canadian, and Asian markets. Walton's model is to acquire land in the path of growth, hold and entitle it, and supply entitled land to homebuilders. The team is deep and land-focused: CEO William (Bill) Doherty, EVP Real Estate Barry Dluzen (25-plus years in residential building and development), EVP Land Acquisitions Mike Doherty, and capital-markets leaders Todd Woodhead and Katie Hubbard, who has helped raise over $500 million in land opportunities. Sponsor affiliates serve as Administrative Trustee, Depositor, and Asset Manager (Holly Ridge Management, LLC). The Sponsor's full track record is attached as Exhibit E; the PPM stresses that past performance is not indicative of future results.
The offering is structured to qualify as replacement property for a Section 1031 exchange. Special Tax Counsel has delivered a tax opinion that an investor's acquisition of Interests should be treated as a direct acquisition of the Property, and that the Trust should be treated as holding the Property for investment rather than primarily for sale, for Section 1031 purposes, allowing an exchanger to defer capital-gains tax by exchanging a relinquished property for a like-kind interest in the land. The DST is intended to be an investment trust/grantor trust, so each investor reports a direct undivided interest in the real estate. The $100,000 minimum applies to both 1031 and cash investors. Investors should note the exit is a taxable sale of the land: the PPM contemplates a straight disposition to a homebuilder rather than a Section 721/UPREIT roll-up, and a future 1031 exchange on exit could be constrained if the Trust converts to a Springing LLC. No IRS ruling is sought and the opinion is limited, so independent tax advice is essential.
Analysis of Colorado Growth 1 - Holly Ridge DST
Insights
Read Holly Ridge for what it is and the DST label falls away: this is a single-parcel land-banking wager on Denver's northern path of growth, best underwritten as speculative private equity, not the income DST its 1031 wrapper implies. There is no yield to check — Y1 through Y10 all print zero, the sole tenant pays a token agricultural rent, and the income, peak, and growth screens sit blank because raw ground has no net-lease or multifamily comp. Value rests on two numbers, both hostile to the buyer: investors commit $6,469,972 to control land that appraised at exactly its $4,500,000 contract price, a 14.98% all-in load built from ~11.5% in commissions and offering costs, a 5% ($225,000) acquisition fee, a $360,000 asset-management fee, and a ~$389,000 reserve. Buying at appraisal and paying fifteen points to do it, the dirt must appreciate ~44% just to return basis.
The outcome hinges on one binary: entitlement. The parcel is zoned A-3 agricultural and must be annexed into Thornton and rezoned before a homebuilder will touch it, approvals the PPM declines to guarantee. Watch the annexation calendar, builder appetite at exit, and reserve burn, since a stalled process turns a patient hold into a capital call. What the pitch soft-pedals lives in Walton's realized record: 76 full-cycle deals at a 1.38x average equity multiple over ~6.9 years, about 8.5% a year — a hold half again longer than the 4-5 years advertised, on a gross multiple a 15% load thins. And the disposition fee triggers only above a $6.8M net sale, barely over investor cost, so the sponsor is paid to get you whole, not to swing for a premium.
Net: a sophisticated exchanger with a large gain to shelter, no income need, a true seven-year-plus stomach, and full tolerance for total loss can hold this as a small satellite sleeve. Anyone who needs distributions, liquidity, or a dated exit should pass.
Advantages
The all-cash, zero-leverage structure eliminates mortgage, refinancing, balloon-maturity, and lender-foreclosure risk at the property level, an unusual and defensively attractive feature among DSTs. The investment provides genuine Section 1031 exchange eligibility supported by a tax opinion, letting exchangers defer capital-gains tax while gaining exposure to residential development land. The Property is a sizable ~70.5-acre, fee-simple, contiguous parcel in a demonstrably growing northern Denver submarket (Thornton/Adams County) with strong household incomes, population growth, RTD N-Line transit access, and a clear single-family residential designation in the City's planning documents. The Sponsor, Walton Global, is a specialized land-banking manager with a multi-decade history since 1979, roughly 93,000 acres under management, and a dedicated land-acquisition and entitlement team. Extensive diligence is already in place, including an appraisal supporting the $4,500,000 purchase price, a Phase I with no recognized environmental conditions, a conceptual site plan, wetlands and endangered-species assessments, geotechnical work, and an entitlement memo. The Trust funds an operating and tax reserve of roughly $389,000 to cover carrying costs, reducing near-term capital-call risk. Return potential is tied to land appreciation and a successful entitlement and sale to a homebuilder, which in a supply-constrained, high-demand housing market can be meaningful, and the Sponsor's disposition-fee threshold, under which no fee is paid unless the net sale price exceeds $6,800,000, partially aligns the Sponsor with a higher-value exit.
Concerns
This is a speculative, illiquid, single-asset investment suitable only for investors who can bear a total loss. There is no public market for the Interests, transfer is restricted, and investors must hold for an indefinite period (anticipated four to five years, but possibly longer). The Property is raw, un-entitled agricultural land, so the entire thesis depends on annexation into the City of Thornton and discretionary zoning and entitlement approvals that are not guaranteed; the PPM explicitly warns there is no guarantee the Trust will achieve its intended exit strategy. It generates essentially no current income (only a nominal $15 agricultural lease), so investors receive no meaningful distributions during the hold and rely entirely on an eventual land sale. The capitalization carries a heavy load: on a $6,469,972 raise, only $4,500,000 (about 70%) buys land that appraised at $4,500,000, while the balance funds selling commissions and offering expenses of about $744,047 (~11.5%), a 5.0% acquisition fee ($225,000), a $360,000 upfront asset-management fee, and reserves, so the land must appreciate substantially just to recover investor cost basis. Investors have no control: they hold no legal title, have no voting rights over management, cannot act to protect the Property, and depend wholly on Sponsor affiliates whose fees are not the product of arm's-length negotiation. A Springing LLC conversion upon certain events could cost investors their direct-ownership and Section 1031 treatment. Tax qualification rests on a limited opinion with no IRS ruling, and the IRS could assert the land is held primarily for sale. Additional risks include potential rollback taxes when agricultural use ceases, wetlands, environmental, and special-wind-region exposure, no audited financial statements, and general real estate, market, and rate-driven land-value risk.
Colorado Growth 1 - Holly Ridge DST — Complete Offering Data
Offering & Structure
Investment NameColorado Growth 1 - Holly Ridge DST
SponsorWalton Global Holdings
StructureDelaware Statutory Trust (DST)
Offering Type506(c)
StatusClosed
Last Updated2026-08-05
Size & Availability
Total Offering$6,469,972
Equity$6,469,972
DebtAll-Cash
Available Equity$0 (0% of equity)
Minimum Investment$100,000
Total Load14.98%
Initial Reserves3.89%
Property
Property TypeLand
StrategyOpportunistic
LocationCO
Market TierTier 1
Income & Projections
Average Yield0.00%
Projected Yields (Y1–Y10)Y1 0.00% · Y2 0.00% · Y3 0.00% · Y4 0.00% · Y5 0.00%
Tax-Adjusted YieldNot disclosed
Cap Rate Equivalent2.50%
Financing
In-Place LTV0.00% LTV
LenderNone (debt-free)
Interest RateN/A (no debt)
Loan TermN/A (no debt)
I/O PeriodN/A (no debt)
AmortizationN/A (no debt)
Y1 DSCRN/A - no debt service
Exit
Estimated Hold Period4-5 years
721 Exchange ExitNone
Benchmarks (vs sector median)
Avg. Income0.00% vs 0.00% market
Peak0.00% vs 0.00% market
Every data point Baker 1031 tracks for this offering, in one place. Figures are drawn from the offering’s private placement memorandum and sponsor materials unless noted, are summaries for convenience only, and are qualified in their entirety by the PPM. Tap the ⓘ icon next to any label for what it means and how it is calculated.
