Following Bidding War, Montana Ranch to Sell for Around Its $136.25 Million Asking Price

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I try to take a look at the "Mansion" section of The Wall Street Journal. It appears every Friday. The article announcing the sale ran last week. One week later, the sale was a done deal. Even for "Mansion" this was a big deal.

The pictures are in a format that won't work at DU. You should try to view them.

Candace Taylor Retweeted

Montana’s Climbing Arrow Ranch hit the market for $136.25 million last week. It’s already in contract. https://wsj.com/articles/following-bidding-war-montana-ranch-is-in-contract-for-around-136-25-million-ask-11620671654?reflink=desktopwebshare_twitter via
@WSJ

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REAL ESTATE | PRIVATE PROPERTIES

Following Bidding War, Montana Ranch to Sell for Around Its $136.25 Million Asking Price

Climbing Arrow Ranch, near Bozeman, was publicly listed for less than a week before finding a buyer

By Katherine Clarke and Candace Taylor
May 10, 2021 2:34 pm ET

A Montana ranch featured in the 1992 Robert Redford movie “A River Runs Through It” is in contract, less than a week after the listing was made public, the listing agent confirmed. ... The property, known as the Climbing Arrow Ranch, sold for around its $136.25 million asking price following a bidding war, according to two other people familiar with the deal.

“Since our public release of the listing of the Climbing Arrow Ranch, we have received an extraordinary response from the market, with multiple parties stepping forth immediately,” listing agent Mike Swan of Swan Land Company said in a statement. “We can confirm that the sellers have engaged with a prospective buyer who is currently conducting their inspections of the ranch.”

If the deal closes, the property, believed to be one of the largest private undeveloped ranches in the Rocky Mountain West, will be one of the most expensive ever sold in the U.S. The deal also speaks to the general strength of the market in the Bozeman area, where real estate prices have skyrocketed amid the pandemic, according to people familiar with the area. ... The closing is slated to happen sometime this summer, according to a spokeswoman for Mr. Swan.

The sellers are the Anderson family. They have owned the property since 1959, when it was purchased by Buck Anderson, grandson of Bank of California founder Frank B. Anderson, and his wife Marcia Anderson, according to the agent. The property has been expanded over time. ... Mr. Anderson died in 2012, and Ms. Anderson died last year. The property is being sold by their children. The family could not immediately be reached for comment.

Located roughly 30 miles from Bozeman and spanning four counties, the ranch comprises a series of five separate, noncontiguous parcels that total about 80,000 acres, one of which borders ranches owned by media mogul and prominent landowner Ted Turner, Mr. Swan said. The ranch includes irrigated hay meadows along the Madison River and limestone cliffs. It is also known for its bull-elk hunting and trout fishing. ... The property includes a herd of nearly 2,000 commercial Black Angus cattle and an abandoned railroad, from the days that the Milwaukee Road ran through a portion of the property. There are seven modest ranch homes on the ranch, most of which are for staff.

Write to Katherine Clarke at [e-mail] and Candace Taylor at [e-mail]

https://twitter.com/KathyClarkeNYC

https://twitter.com/CandaceETaylor

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. CLIMBING ARROW RANCH SALE PENDING

CLIMBING ARROW RANCH | SALE PENDING

Legendary Fishing, Hunting and Large Scale Agricultural Production

Manhattan, Montana | Gallatin, Meagher, Madison & Broadwater Counties

Offered at $136,250,000
79,582± Total Acres
Storied Western Montana Ranch

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Here are pictures of the abandoned Milwaukee Road line on the property.

Aerial views of Eagle Nest Tunnel and Bridge along Sixteen Mile Creek

Sixteen Mile Creek, Eagle Nest Tunnel & Canyon Aerial Photographs , Sixteen Montana

Aerial photographs of abandoned Milwaukee Road Rail Road along Sixteen Mile Creek & Canyon, Montana 2011

One of the most scenic and visually stunning locations along the Milwaukee Road's Pacific Coast Extension was a rather small, simple deck plate girder bridge and tunnel at a location known as Sixteen, Montana. What became known as Eagle Nest Tunnel, located along the main line between Harlowton and Three Forks, the bridge and tunnel are spectacular for how the entire project was built; the tunnel was cut into a small cliff-face and empties out directly onto the bridge which spans a small creek. With the Milwaukee Road's abandonment of its Extension in 1980 this section of the line lies dormant today and has not seen a train in over 30 years. Above text from the following website: http://www.american-rails.com/eagle-nest-tunnel.html

The Milwaukee Road Abandoned “Pacific Extension” Trip

[VMA131Marine]

3. $1,700 per acre!

That’s about half the average US price of farmland. Seams like a steal.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. That was among the comments. On a per-acre basis, this was not a high price at all.

Of course, you had to buy all 80,000 acres.

[MontanaMama]

5. Just like everything else in Montana at the moment.

I don’t know of a property for sale in my community that hasn’t ended up a full on auction. It’s disturbing.