A
recent trip to Montana illustrates that real estate investment capital tends to
share connections that reach across regions--especially in areas that have
similar natural, demographic and other characteristics.
In this case I had a first hand
experience in Whitefish, Montana, a scenic historic town north of Flathead Lake
and only 30 minutes from the entrance to Glacier National Park and in sight of
the massive Bob Marshall Wilderness complex.
Although
still a major economic factor, the region’s timber industry--with companies
such as Plum Creek Timber--is now facing environmental challenges that have
reduced forest harvesting and related employment, as elsewhere across the West.
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| Whitefish Mountain ski runs as seen from downtown |
The
economy, according to the Flathead County web site, is now experiencing “attraction
development” with recreation and tourism creating more service jobs.
With
a population of only 6,357 according to the 2010 Census, Whitefish is dwarfed
by Bend’s approximately 80,000, although the Flathead County officials estimate its population
increases by 40% from June through August.
As a
recreation and vacation home hub, Whitefish has a thriving downtown with clothing
boutiques, specialty retail shops, antique stores, galleries, bookstores, a
brew pub, local coffee roaster and cafe, a range of casual and fine dining and
a weekly farmer’s market in the central town park.
Expanded
shopping in “big box” stores such as Costco, Best Buy, Bed Bath and Beyond and
others is only a 15 minute drive from Whitefish to Kalispell, the county seat
and commercial hub with more than 20,000 residents.
Whitefish
is also situated on a namesake lake with views into Glacier National Park from
several vantage points. And like Bend and Mt. Bachelor, Whitefish also has a
major ski mountain, Whitefish Mountain Resort, formerly known as Big Mountain.
Although
the total 2010 census reports only 90,928 residents in all of Flathead county
air service and the Amtrak line running through Whitefish link it to major
population centers. As such the area is easily accessible to international
travelers visiting Glacier National Park and its neighbor Waterton Lakes across
the border in Alberta, Canada.
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| Fall in Glacier National Park |
Glacier
International Airport between Kalispell and Whitefish offers nonstop or direct flights by
major carriers, including Alaska, Delta, United and affiliates, to Los Angeles,
San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Denver. Amtrak’s Empire Builder has
regular service from Seattle through Sandpoint, Idaho and on to Chicago.
In
my trip to visit a friend and float-fish the Flathead River and its
tributaries I took time out to tour downtown Whitefish and stopped by the
Glacier Sotheby’s International office.
While
chatting about the comparative real estate markets with a Sotheby’s broker, who
visited Bend some years ago, I inquired as to who owned the local Sotheby’s
franchise.
And
at that point I heard the bell ring, so to speak, for a Bend-Whitefish nexus.
The
Whitefish Sotheby’s franchise, and those throughout Montana, are owned by
companies connected to Bill Foley, (William P. Foley II) founder and chairman of Fidelity
National Financial, a publicly-traded Fortune 500 company, and parent of
Fidelity National Title company, the nation’s largest group of title insurance
companies, and other subsidiaries.
Foley
also has a hand in Cascade Timberlands LLC, the company that bought out
creditors in the bankruptcy of Crown Pacific LP thereby acquiring the prized
33,000 acres of commercial forest that protects the view corridor to the Three
Sisters Wilderness between Sisters and Bend. Altogether Cascade Timberlands
purchased more than 290,000 acres of the Crown Pacific holdings, extending all
the way down the Cascades spine to the California border.
According
to a 2008 SEC filing, Fidelity National Financial, the parent of Fidelity
National Financial www.fnf.com and other
companies, controls nearly three-quarters of the Cascade Timberlands forest lands
portfolio.
The
original plan for the Bend to Sisters land was to develop a few thousand
acres of the property as an estate lot community, leaving more than 30,000 acres
available for purchase by the Deschutes Basin Land Trust. Although negotiations
are periodically said to be still alive, there has been no recently announced
movement on the plan.
In
the Whitefish area, a Foley company purchased the former Big Mountain ski area
in 2007 and rebranded it with some local controversy as Whitefish Mountain
Resort.
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| View from road to Whitefish Mountain Resort |
Besides
the Sotheby’s franchise and ski area,
through another company Foley, a West Point graduate with an MBA from Seattle
University and law degree from the University of Washington, also owns four Whitefish
restaurants. One restaurant has a wine bar featuring a dozen labels under the
Foley Family Wines company, among those Firestone, Sebastiani, Merus, Lincourt,
Kuleto, Foley Estates, EOS, Chalk Hill and Altvs in California, Three Rivers in
the Walla Walla area and several in New Zealand. www.foleyfamilywines.com, based in Sonoma, California.
By
membership in the Foley Food & Wine Society, members can participate in
wine events related to Foley’s holdings, order wines, stay at affiliated lodges
and resorts, or ski Whitefish Mountain. www.foleyfoodandwinesociety.com.
Down
the road from Whitefish in Deer Lodge, MT a Foley company is developing
the 30,000 acre Rock Creek Cattle Company, www.rockcreekcattlecompany.com, described as a historic working ranch, with 240 gated home sites and Tom
Doak-designed 18-hole golf course. And the Foley portfolio also
includes the Glacier Jet Center with charter and other aviation services based at Glacier International. www.glacierjetcenter.com.
As
is often the case, the highly mobile top tier of the demographic ladder often
divide their time between several residences.
Although
Foley has a 10,000 square foot plus home on Whitefish Lake, and locals consider
that his primary residence, he also has ties to the Santa Barbara, CA and Jacksonville, FL areas.
