Yellowstone club

Porcupine Creek Gets A Major Price Cut

Filed under: Estates

When Porcupine Creek, the 249-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, California that used to be owned by Yellowstone Club founders Tim and Edra Blixseth, hit the market in February, I knew it was only a matter of time before the price came tumbling down. The Wall Street Journal reports that the property is getting a price cut into slightly more realistic territory, down to $55 million from $75 million.

Even at that price it's a highly unwieldy property, more suited to being a retreat or a resort than a private home. The estate includes a golf club and 19-hole golf course, a huge 18,400 square-foot main residence, eight guest houses, a pool, spa, gym and an amphitheater. The WSJ says that the Montage Hotel and Resorts has restored the golf course, irrigation system and water features; a good thing as things change quickly out in the desert and an untended course could quickly go dusty. The property is being sold for creditors of the bankrupt Yellowstone project and its holding company. Jeff Hyland of Hilton & Hyland and Tyler Morgan of Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate in Palm Springs have the listing and any potential sale would be subject to bankruptcy court approval in Montana. New pictures in the MLS give more of a view of the interior of the main home, including the many antiques in the home and details like ceiling murals and ornate woodwork. I suspect that when this home sells there will be a another huge estate sale of all the furniture in the home.

Gallery: Porcupine Creek

Tags: blixseths, california real estate, edra blixseth, porcupine creek, rancho mirage, tim blixseth, yellowstone club

Edra Blixseth's Porcupine Creek On The Market For $75 Million

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

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.

Gallery: Porcupine Creek

Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, emerald cay, EmeraldCay, porcupine creek, PorcupineCreek, tim blixseth, TimBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Credit Suisse Sued Over Resort Failures

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Should a lender be held accountable for a resort's failure? A class action suit may bring one answer. The Wall Street Journal reports on a suit filed by property owners at four resorts. The suit accuses Credit Suisse Group AG of predatory lending. The $24 billion suit was filed on behalf of over 3,000 homeowners and investors and includes Beau Blixseth, the son of former Yellowstone club owners Tim and Edra Blixseth. Yellowstone Club is one of the properties named in the suit, the others are Ginn Sur Mer in the Bahamas, the Lake Las Vegas resort in Nevada and the Tamarack Resort in Idaho. So far all of these properties except for Ginn Sur Mer have wrestled with bankruptcy. The plaintiffs have lost more than $8 billion in their investments.

Court papers accuse Credit Suisse and related corporations of wire and mail fraud, racketeering, money laundering and conspiracy all in the name of coercing developers to take out huge loans. The suit also takes on real-estate adviser Cushman & Wakefield Inc., saying that the firm aided the bank by creating property appraisals that inflated the value of the properties for sale. The suit says that the bank knowingly drove up the value of the properties, made massive loans and then charged exorbitant loan fees that it knew the resorts wouldn't be able to pay. The suit alleges that all this was done so the banks could take control of the resorts.

Tags: credit suisse, Credit Suisse Group, CreditSuisse, CreditSuisseGroup, lake las vegas, LakeLasVegas, tamarack resort, TamarackResort, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

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Yellowstone Club Furnishings Auctioned Off

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions

The Blixseth/Yellowstone auction was held on November 21 and the comprehensive sale of the belongings of Edra Blixseth amassed for the Yellowstone Club sold briskly. The Kamelot Auction House in Philadelphia saw its biggest crowd to date as many people came to check out the large collection of vintage furnishings, rugs and other objects. Some objects, such as antique rugs, sold for far over their estimates while other pieces including several antique French sideboards valued at nearly $30,000 each were sold at bargain-basement prices ($12,240 for the pair). A pair of life-size monumental cast bronze elk sold for over $10,000 while a similar pair of life-size bronze horses and riders went for $5,000 dollars. Objects were sold without the limitations of a minimum bid. The sale was estimated to bring in $500,000 to $800,000 and actual sales were about $750,000. A complete catalogue of the Yellowstone Collection including photo galleries and detailed descriptions of every lot is currently available at www.kamelotauctions.com.

Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, furniture auction, FurnitureAuction, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

More Blixseth Bounty Up For Bid

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions

I mentioned one auction of some of the furniture from the Yellowstone Club before but now more of the furniture that Edra Blixseth bought to furnish the luxury enclave is set to go up for auction. Kamelot Auction House in Philadelphia will host the sale of the former furnishings and art from the Yellowstone Club on November 21 at 10 a.m. The Blixseths had properties around the globe and travelled extensively finding art and furnishings wherever they roamed. Now as a result of their divorce and Edra Blixseth's bankruptcy these pieces must be sold. The Yellowstone Club collection will be offered without any minimum bids or reserves.

The auction includes nearly 50 rugs. The Blixseths bought from across a wide range of periods and styles but seemed to have a particular fondness for dark carved wood and chairs ulpholstered in velvet. The rosewood and bronze sideboard from a French chateau circa 1875 shown above is just one of their many European purchases. Other items include wooden telephone booths, antique display cases, industrial tables and shelving, taxidermy and vintage sporting equipment. A rare pair of carved and mirrored Victorian billiard cue racks and scoreboard will be offered along with two full-sized bronze horses and Colonial riders and a pair of life-size cast bronze elk which stand nearly ten feet high. A complete catalogue for this auction including photo galleries and detailed descriptions of every lot to be sold is currently available at www.kamelotauctions.com. Bidding by phone will be available for out-of-town customers.

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Tags: auction, blixseths, edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, furniture, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Yellowstone Club Furniture Auction To Be Held

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

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.

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Tags: blixseth, edra blixeth, EdraBlixeth, red baron antiques, RedBaronAntiques, tim blixseth, TimBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Is It Blixseth Bargain Time?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments, Wealth

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.

Gallery: Chateau de Farcheville

Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, tim blixseth, TimBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

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Will Trump Save the Yellowstone Club?

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

We've certainly chatted about this Montana millionaires' resort over the past six months as it filed for Chapter 11 and then finally for bankruptcy. Now, with bids to purchase the property due in the next month, offers are emerging with interest even expressed from Donald Trump. Although Trump isn't aggressively pursuing the Club, considering its many extensive issues, he is investigating the possibility of associating the Trump name with the golf and ski resort. If the club isn't purchased, what then?

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Tags: donald trump, DonaldTrump, trump, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Yellowstone Club Owner Edra Blixseth Files For Bankruptcy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

It's not really a surprise after months of financial trouble but the owner of the exclusive Yellowstone Club, Edra Blixseth, has filed for personal bankruptcy. The Yellowstone Club, an elite Montana playground for the wealthy including Bill Gates and Dan Quayle filed for Chapter 11 last November.

Former billionaire Edra Blixseth and her ex-husband Tim once had more money than they knew what to do with but a nasty divorce and the economy changed things dramatically. Edra Blixseth took over the millionaires-only club last August as part of the divorce. Documents filed in federal court in Montana, says she is a personal debt of over $500 million. As Bloomberg reports she filed bankruptcy in order to stop a creditor from seizing and liquidating property. The Blixseths owned property around the world and as part of the divorce Edra Blixseth got the castle in France and a golf property in Scotland both of which are up for sale. She also owns an estate near Palm Springs, California.

The Yellowstone Club will be auctioned for an opening bid of $100 million with CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC as the leading bidder. Yellowstone's lenders have apposed the sale to CrossHarbor saying that Blixseth is being influenced by the group, whose leader Sam Byrne loaned her $35million.

The Yellowstone Club was the destination of three families killed when their private plane crashed near Butte, Montana earlier this week.

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Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Just How Much Is The Yellowstone Club Worth?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

The saga of the Yellowstone Club takes another turn. Now the IHT reports that the Wyoming club for the ultra-rich could be sold for $100 million to a Boston financial firm according to documents filed by club attorneys. An affiliate of CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC would pay $30 million in cash and $70 million in a promissory note for the 13,600 acre club near Yellowstone National Park. The deal comes with a promise that CrossHarbor would also put out $50 million in capital improvements and another $25 million for other expenses. Add that up and you get $175 million a number still far short of what the appraisals of the club have been. At various points it has been valued from $310 million to $780 million.

Times has certainly changed for the Yellowstone Club, an ultra-luxurious retreat for the wealthy including Bill Gates and Dan Quayle which was once to be the site of a single home to sell for $155 million. Now it is more than $400 million in debt. In late 2007 and early 2008 club member Sam Byrne made offers to purchase the club for a reported $455 million. He is the controlling force behind CrossHarbor.

The deal would be contingent on court approval and other purchase proposals and the deal would have to protect members who paid deposits of $250,000 to $300,000 to join the club as well as settling the accounts of local contractors and other vendors still owed money. Hoping for a better offer, club attorneys have asked the bankruptcy judge to push back the February 13 deadline for the club to come up with a reorganization plan. If the club could not find another higher offer within the next couple months then it would accept the CrossHarbor deal. The question remains whether anyone has both the money and the will to take on this wealthy enclave.

The club is currently owned by Edra Blixseth who took over the club after her ex-husband Tim Blixseth turned it over to her as part of their divorce settlement. The Blixseths, once praised for their amicable divorce, have seen their shared holdings split up and several of their other properties are for sale.

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Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

The Yellowstone Club Goes Chapter 11

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

The saga of the Yellowstone Club has come to a sad place, the land of Chapter 11. The club in Montana's Gallatin Mountains first opened in 1999 as an ultra-elite enclave for the rich and powerful. Bill Gates, Dan Quayle and Jack Kemp were among the members as well as a whole host of titans of industry. The Club featured private homes, a ski hill, golf course and an elaborate club house. The property was also supposed to be host to what would have been the U.S.'s most expensive house at the time, a $155 million deluxe vacation retreat which was never built.

But things started to go sour when the Club's billionaire founders, Tim and Edra Blixseth divorced. At first it was an amicable and miraculously lawyer-free split. But things turned sour and the pair worked through a messy divorce that ended with Edra Blixseth as the club's majority owner and chief executive. This summer saw the end of a lawsuit between bicycle racing champ Greg LeMond and the battling Blixseths resulting in a $39.5 million settlement.

A couple of months ago the club announced an expansion plan with the Discovery Land Company that would have brought 450 more houses and condos, a luxury spa, golf clubhouse, baseball field and more ski runs to the 13,400-acre development. Those plans are now on hold. The club has said it has been unable to reach agreements with its creditors and bondholders but plans to regroup and continue onward with business as usual, opening for ski season with the usual 600 or so employees.

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Tags: blixseth, edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

Greg LeMond Reaches Settlement Over Yellowstone Club

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

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.

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Tags: edra blixseth, EdraBlixseth, greg lemond, GregLemond, tim blixseth, TimBlixseth, yellowstone club

Site of Planned $155 Million House Sold

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Last January, we heard about the plans for a $155 million home planned for the Yellowstone Club, the exclusive millionaires' playground in Montana. The AP reports that Tim Blixseth, the founder of the Yellowstone Club has sold the parcel of land where he had planned to build the home. Big Sky resident Loren Bough bought the 160-acre parcel.

Earlier this month, The Desert Sun did a comprehensive story on Blixseth's fight to keep his wealth. He and his wife Edra Blixseth have been involved in a bitter divorce. He's also been fighting a multimillion-dollar settlement with former cycling star Greg LeMond. When Tim and Edra first split in December 2006 after a 25 year relationship, they were lauded for dividing their property and assets without fights and lawyers. But since then, they have been involved in a protracted battle for their shared assets.

Also Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, his parents-in-law David and Sacia Morris, and Jorge Jasson, a family friend have claimed i ncourt that 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 reached a $38 million settlement in the case. Blixseth paid the first installment on the suit but missed a payment in January and interest is now accruing.

Blixseth is trying to sell the 13,400-acre gated community. In January he was working with CrossHarbor Capital Partners LLC, the Boston-based private- equity firm founded by Yellowstone member Sam Byrne to sell assets of the club for $455.7 million.

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Tags: blixseth, montana, yellowstone club, YellowstoneClub

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