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Newsletter from Montana
September 2004
Jumpin' Jiminy, I listed a couple of 10 acres tracts at Buffalo Jump in Nye! They are
beautiful pieces in the mountains with National Forest and Stillwater River access, one of the best trout fishing streams in Montana, for $ 59,900 each
Click on the animated buffaloes above the price on my website, and you will hear a haunting flute,
played by Robert Tree Cody
The subdivision is called Buffalo Jump, because it is more or less across from a real Buffalo Jump, which is a stubby cliff with a slope beneath. The Crow Indians used this formation to chase bison over the edge and whichever broke their leg or skull became lunch among other things. Below the buffalo jump are teepee rings, which are circles of rocks that held the fabric of the teepees down. While the Native Americans were still on foot, those rings were rather small, but after the Spaniards left them some horses, the rings became much larger. The Nye area was used heavily by the Native Americans and if you are interested in buying a piece of property adjacent or across from the Jump on the Stillwater, there are properties for sale for $ 1.5 million (40 acres) and $ 2.5 million (139 acres). These prices include beautiful log homes. If that is out of your price range for now, you might want to take a look at my new listing in the Cathedral Mountain subdivision, which is a gated community with a full time caretaker in the same vicinity.
The cabin has a spectacular view
into the Stillwater Canyon to the west and a forever-view into the Stillwater Valley to the east. To the south, you are looking straight at a mountain, which seems to be alive. It turns purple at times, sometimes it is golden and in winter, it sparkles in white. You can catch a rainbow in front of it when it rains. $ 175,000 furnished, and it comes with an extra lot for privacy.
If you would like to stay within half an hour of Billings, the largest city in Montana, I just listed a 3 bedroom/1 bath home in the tiny town of Fromberg on a fairly large lot with a fenced yard. The home was built in 1935, when Fromberg was still a railroad town. The train does not stop there anymore and the town of Fromberg had to find new ways of staying alive. There are now murals on the old buildings downtown, I took pictures of them and put them on my website. The old railroad station became a museum with a nice park and they have a beautiful school there out of brick and a groomed football field. Billings has now over 100,000 people, which makes it appear on the radar screen of large companies and it is expanding at a rapid rate - mainly toward the west, which is going to help Fromberg out a great deal. The present owner did many improvements on it and all the appliances are almost new. With a little paint inside and out and some new windows, you can have a
nice little home for just $ 66,000!
Back to work, I listed a 3,800 sqft industrial building on the way to the Glacier Park in Choteau. It now is home to a bronze casting business, but of course you can
use the building for anything you like
The casting business is somewhat slow at the present time, but if you would like to keep it up, the business and equipment is also for sale and the owners would train if need to be. Maybe you know an artist who would be interested? Right now the building is also used as an art gallery and built to suit tours.
To water things down a bit, did you know that the Guinness Book of World Records lists the Roe River near Choteau as the shortest river? The Roe flows 200 feet between Giant Springs and the Missouri River near Great Falls. The Roe River competes with the D River in Lincoln City, Oregon for the title of the shortest river. Both rivers have been measured on different occasions, with lengths varying from 58 feet to 200 feet. Schoolchildren in Great Falls campaigned successfully to have the Roe River placed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The source of the Roe River, Giant Springs, is the largest freshwater spring in the United States. The longest river in the state is the Missouri River. The Missouri flows 1,029 miles, from Three Forks to the North Dakota border.
The Continental Divide runs along the crests of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico, literally dividing the waters of the North American Continent. Montana is known as the Headwaters State, because much of the water, which flows to the rest of the nation, comes from the mountains of Montana. Two of the nation's major river systems, the Missouri and Columbia, are born high in the Rocky Mountains of Montana.
At any rate, back to the lowlands and back to work. I just listed an almost 50 year old business for $ 225,000 +inventory. The owner is semi retired and wants to sell. When he was still running it himself he took in $ 4 million gross, The business now is run by a manager bringing in $ 1+ million gross, if you would run it yourself, you would keep $ 100,000+ without expanding the business. Now,
this business has potential!
It is a gas distribution for farms/ranches and small airports in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota, with 3 bays for repairing tires and oil changes in old town Laurel -
a growing city west of Billings
and smack in the path of growth....
If you have a sailboat or airplane, he would take that in trade, and he would also carry the papers with $ 50,000 down.
If you own some acreage, you might think about giving part of it away to raise the value of the remainder.
For example, if you gave a part of your property to a charitable organization or a college, the value of the donated portion would be deductible. The presence of the college would add value to the land retained by you, the donor, which would likely surpass the value of the gift. In one instance, a nationally known celebrity gave 40 acres of a 320-acre tract to establish a medical center. Before the first phase of the medical center was completed, the value of the remaining 28 acres had more than tripled in value.
For a $1.00 rental fee, Miami Beach developers Emil and Lawrence Morton made 160 acres of a 430-acre site available to the Miami Dolphins for a new stadium. The Morton's believed the development of the stadium would enhance the value of their remaining land. They planned to develop the rest of the site with hotels, offices, commercial space, and a fitness center. The Morton's felt that the stadium would act as a catalyst, offering them fantastic development opportunities. Now there is a thought for you, be sure to cut me in, when it comes to the re-investing part :-)
The Red Lodge area is a good place for investing; the city has been awarded a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) by the Montana Department of Commerce for the preparation of a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The City has secured consultant services from The Hingston Roach Group, to lead the community in an analysis of economic development strengths and challenges. Opportunities for active community participation include an online survey, leadership workshop, and public meetings. Economic development goals, strategies and an action plan will be developed; including a concept plan for the airport/business park area.
The final CEDS document will guide future economic and business improvements in Red Lodge, they are posted here:
If you would like to interest some younger folks for Montana, I found some
fun facts and figures for kids
I put a link for that on my
personal page, along with the other fun links. There is also a link for
Surrealism and Poems you as an adult might enjoy.
And if you want to get away from your computer and be in Red Lodge on October 16, there will be a Benefit Concert for the Silver Run Ski Foundation with the Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio. The trio is led by Jeni's powerful voice capable of effortlessly delivering complex classical and modern jazz dichotomies in one breath, breezy folk tunes with a modern twist and vibrant original pop in another. Performance will be at the Roman Theater at 7:00 pm ~ did you know our theater has couches?
All-inclusive tickets are available at Bridge Creek for $40 per person. This includes the three course pre-concert dinner, reserved seating at the performance, an invitation to the post-concert reception with the artists, all related taxes and gratuities. Tickets must be purchased by October 11th.
Call 406/446-9900 for ticket sales or more information.
Have a wonderful golden October - my favorite month and it includes my birthday!
:-)
Best Regards,
Dorothea Lowe, Broker
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