TimBlixseth

I've been chronicling the misfortunes of the Tim and Edra Blixseth for a while. The pair went from owning the ultra-elite Yellowstone Club and a global scattering of multimillion properties to seeing everything they built up parceled out and sold off in the fallout from their divorce. Most recently many of the antiques that the Blixseths amassed in their trips around the world were auctioned off. Edra Blixseth has also unloaded some of her jewelry.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the estate where Edra Blixseth spent many happy years is now up for sale for $75 million. Porcupine Creek in Rancho Mirage is a 249 acre estate. Blixseth declared bankruptcy but is now a shareholder in the BLX Group, the holding company for the Yellowstone Club and this home. The seller is the trustee of the BLX Group. The Blixseths built the Porcupine Creek estate together. The property includes a 25,000 square foot main residence, guest houses, a gym and spa, golf clubhouse, golf course and more. Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland and Tyler Morgan of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate in Palm Springs have the listing but an official listing hasn't hit the web yet. Any potential sale would be subject to bankruptcy court approval in Montana.

The one question on anyone's mind is, will it sell for even close to that price? The Wall Street Journal's Robert Frank who has visited the property believes that it would make a fine resort. He suggests that a company like the Four Seasons or even a resort-minded mogul like Donald Trump might be a buyer who can make the most of the home. It bears noting that $75 million was also a price Tim Blixseth was once looking for his island retreat, Emerald Cay. He has since revised his expectations and that tropical paradise is now listed at $48.5 million.

UPDATE: Thanks to Ben for leading me to the Christie's listing. The pictures aren't great but they do give a bit of an idea as to the scale of the property.

The incredible two-seated throne above has had a long history. The black walnut furniture with pierce-carved armrests formed from integrated winged lions was once installed in a castle in Bavaria. Later they were in a mansion overlooking Chesapeake Bay. And finally they were destined for what would have been the most expensive home in the United States, the Pinnacle, a home to be built in the Yellowstone Club in Montana. Yellowstone Club founder Tim Blixseth planned to put this in the 53,000-square-foot home spec house that was never built.

This is just one of the offerings from the Yellowstone Club that will be auctioned off by Red Baron's Antiques in Atlanta. Red Baron is famous for its monumental auctions featuring fountains, whole wood bars, vintage automobiles and all sorts of pieces that because of their size might not find a home elsewhere. The auction featuring the Blixseth pieces will be held on November 6-8 and the entire collection could be worth more than $8 million.

Tim and Edra Blixseth once traveled the world picking up furnishings for their many homes. Now the battling Blixseths are being forced to sell of most of their properties and many of their belongings. The Yellowstone Club went to Edra Blixseth after the divorce but after bankruptcy proceedings it was sold to CrossHarbor Capital Partners of Boston for $115 million. CrossHarbor decided to liquidate the furniture collection. A total of 13 tractor-trailer loads of furniture are being shipped to Atlanta for the sale.

We first heard in December that Tim Blixseth has placed Emerald Cay, his private island, up for sale for $75 million. Now that it has been on the market for six months for the same price it may be time for a price cut. It's more expensive than other Caribbean private islands but the five-acre private island, located off the coast of Providenciales is a complete compound. It has a guest house, a 'floating' tennis court, swimming pool, a gym, movie theater, three-story library and a wine cellar that holds 8,000 bottles. The island also has a several docks and a manmade beach. It connects to the mainland via a retractable bridge. Blixseth had planned to rent the property out as part of the Yellowstone Club World property portfolio. Even though it is a beautiful property which cost millions to bring to its current state of glory if Blixseth wants to sell he's probably going to have to adjust his expectations. After all, he's got bills to pay.

Meanwhile, it's liquidation time for Tim Blixseth's ex-wife Edra. A judge has converted her Chapter 11 bankruptcy case into a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding. An independent bankruptcy trustee will see that proceeds from the sale of assets named in the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy action are turned over to creditors. Blixseth's Yellowstone Club was sold in a court-approved deal to Boston-based CrossHarbor Capital Partners for a bargain basement rate of $115 million. Tim Blixseth had turned the club over to his wife as part of their divorce settlement. Edra Blixseth also owns Porcupine Creek, a 240-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, California. For a while she's had Chateau de Farcheville, a medieval castle in France that comes with a moat, hunting grounds and its own helicopter pad on the market for $57 million. The St. Andrews golf estate in Scotland is also for sale. Edra Blixseth also owns significant collections of furniture, fine art, diamonds and other jewelry valued at $2.6 million, a 2004 Rolls Royce Phantom, a 2006 Aston Martin, and a 2007 BMW.

More troubles are facing the Yellowstone Club, which filed Chapter 11 last November. Now four creditors are suing the Yellowstone Club World resort for $4.65 million. The club was created by Tim Blixseth to take the Yellowstone Club concept and turn it into a global offering. Members signed up for the chance to stay in four multimillion dollar estates around the globe and paid a $1.5 million deposit. But because there wasn't enough interest the club never got off the ground and Blixseth let go of the idea after he turned over the Yellowstone Club to his ex-wife Edra. The four estates in question were split between the couple with Edra Blixseth getting the golf resort in Scotland and a castle in France and Tim Blixseth getting an estate in Mexico and a private island in the Caribbean. Now Tim Blixseth has put the island up for sale for $75 million and Edra Blixseth is trying to sell the castle, Chateau de Farcheville, for around $65 million (you can see pictures from the castle's rental listing here).

The four creditors are trying to force a liquidation of the entity's assets in order to get their money back. Meanwhile, Edra Blixseth faces a reorganization deadline of February 13 on the original Yellowstone Club, which has debts approaching $400 million. According to an AP article, a spokesperson for Edra Blixseth says just the membership deposits were considered assets of Yellowstone Club World, meaning that the properties may be separate and could be kept safe. Tim Blixseth sent an e-mail to The Associated Press saying that he no longer has any involvement in the Yellowstone Club World membership. He took a small dig at the ex, adding "too bad she did not honor her obligation." Two years ago, the Wall Street Journal praised the couple's amicable divorce but things have changed dramatically and the ongoing battles have weakened the finanical portfolios of both partners.

From the Real Estalker:
--Architect Benjamin Sohr and designer and day spa owner Genifer Goodman Sohr have put their fabulous modern log cabin, shown above, in Nashville on the market for $899,000. The listing is here.
--Jimmy Kimmel may have picked up a new contemporary home in Los Angeles which was listed at $6.35 million.
--Jeff Lewis of Bravo's "Flipping Out" is the "very motivated" seller for a home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles listed at $1.395 million. He bought the home for $1 million in June of this year. The home is listed as "looking for backup."
--Producer and screenwriter Walter Parkes and producer Laurie MacDonald have listed their loft apartment in the TriBeCa area of New York City for for $4.595 million.
--Michelle Branch has listed her Tennessee home for sale for $1.285 million. It was our estate of the day on Saturday.
--Tony Danza's Park City, utah ski home is available for rent.
--Rumor has it that Oprah is looking for real estate in Washington D.C.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Paula Redstone, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Sumner Redstone has picked up a Beverly Hills home for $4.15 million.
--Television producer Jeff Franklin, who produced such TV hits as "Full House," "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper" and "Malcolm & Eddie," is selling his Sunset Strip-area house, now listed at $6,.495 million as a tear-down. The listing is here.
--Beverly D'Angelo has listed her Beverly Hills home. It is our estate of the day later today.
Movie producer Donald DeLine has cut the price of his Hollywood home by $400,000. It is now listed at $4.35 million. The listing is here.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
-- Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly have sold their 18-room mansion in Brooklyn's Park Slope area for $8.45 million and have paid $6.92 million for a penthouse new co-op unit in Manhattan's TriBeCa area.
--Music producer Barbara Orbison, who is the widow of Roy Orbison, has placed her three-bedroom house in the Bird Streets area of Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills on the market for $2.795 million. The listing is here.
--Supermodel Shalom Harlow has sold her full-floor condominium unit in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood for $1.9 million.
--via the Wall Street Journal, Anne Rice's former home in New Orleans is on the market. We'll be checking it on Tuesday as an estate of the day.

From Newsday's Real LI:
--Victoria Gotti has put her Old Westbury, NY home on the market again, we'll be checking it out as an estate of the day on Monday.
-The price has been lowered on La Selva, the 24.3-acre Upper Brookville estate owned by Sylvia Kumar, wife of imprisoned former Computer Associates chief Sanjay Kumar. It is now listed at $14.5 million. It was listed at $17 million when we covered it last year as an estate of the day.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Tim Blixseth, the former owner of the Yellowstone Club, is looking to sell his Caribbean island, Emerald Cay. He has advertized it in the Robb Report for $75 million but may accept a Gulfstream G550 jet or a New York apartment instead.
--Senior managing director Prakash Melwani of Wall Street's Blackstone Group has paid $27.5 million for an apartment on New York's Fifth Avenue owned by Christine Wasserstein, the former wife of financier Bruce Wasserstein.
--Writer John Ridley has cut the listing price of his apartment in New York's financier-filled 15 Central Park West condominium to $9.95 million which is still 50% more than he bought it for in July. The listing is here.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Frances Bean Cobain has been spotted checking out a $6.5 million penthouse condo at 115 Mercer St. Marc Jacobs has also looked at the three-bedroom unit.
--James Gandolfini was spotted looking at the Fairchild, a new condo project at 55 Vestry St. in TriBeCa. Prices there range from $1.965 million to $8.995 million.
--Italian producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori is looking for a buyer with a capable architect to purchase his gutted Trump International Hotel & Tower penthouse for $28.5 million.The listing is here.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--A two-bedroom co-op on 834 Fifth's 13th floor, below Rupert Murdoch's penthouse, is about to go on the market. It belongs to the estate of Araxia M. Buckhantz, whose cousin was playboy oil magnate Nubar Gulbenkian. The listing price will likely be around $30 million.
--In 1981 Murray H. Goodman paid $1.41 million for a duplex at 960 Fifth Avenue, now he is putting it on the market for $32.5 million.
--One well-heeled buyer could pick up four units to make a triplex at 2 East 67th Street, a co-op controlled by Arthur Carter. In order to have all four you'd have to pick up the fifth floor spread for $39.5 million, the third floor at $43 million, and the two halves of the fourth floor for $22 million and $12.5 million. That would make three floors for $117 million with a monthly maintenance of $42,423 but it is unlikely that the building board would let any one buyer have all three floors.

From Pacific Business News:
--Fred and Annie Chan have put the former Kaiser estate in Portlock, Hawaii up for sale for $80 million. The listing is here.

The lawsuit between bicycle racing champ Greg LeMond and the battling Blixseths has finally been reached. As I mentioned back in March, the Tour de France winner, his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, and Jorge Jasson, a family friend claimed Tim Blixseth tried to buy their shares at the Yellowstone Club for a total of $13 million, which they say was a fraction of their value. The parties had previously reached a $38 million settlement in the case. Blixseth paid the first installment on the suit but missed a payment in January. Now the suit has been settled for a $39.5 million settlement.

The news comes after Tim Blixseth and Edra Blixseth, who are working their way through a divorce that started off pleasant but has become contentious, have resolved the questions over ownership of the exclusive Yellowstone Club.Edra Blixseth is now the club's majority owner and chief executive, and will be footing LeMond's bill. Her spokesman Bill Keegan says she has ambitious plans for the Montana getaway which caters to the wealthy. Bill Gates and Dan Quayle are members and Greg LeMond has said he will keep his residence at the club.