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Save the Dates: Oct. 12-13

For the 4th edition of the NewWest.Net Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies conference, we’ve added a new feature: four separate pre-conference tours on Monday, Oct. 12. We’ve done tours like this at our Bozeman and Boise conferences and they were a huge hit, so we thought we’d bring the concept to our flagship event in Missoula.

Two the tours are focused on Missoula. One, a walking tour led by Missoula Mayor John Engen, will look at downtown, the new downtown masterplan, and redevelopment projects past and future. Mayor Engen is both deeply knowledgeable and very entertaining, and this tour promises even downtown denizens a new look at the heart of Missoula.

The second Missoula tour will look at great examples of green building, infill development and other forms of sustainable development around town. Check out the new LEED bank buildings, hear about the plans for the Sustainable Business Center, and much more.

We’re also very pleased to offer two fascinating tours outside of Missoula. A tour in Butte will look at the incredible historic architecture of that city, and discuss how it can be sustained and enhanced in the context of redevelopment. We’ll be offering van service from Missoula, or if you’re coming to the conference from points east it’s a convenient stop on the way.

Finally we have the Idaho conservation development tour, which features an overnight stay at the spectacular Blackhawk on the River conservation development in McCall. This tour begins on Sunday, Oct. 10, and if you’re coming from Boise or points south it’s a great way to make your trip to Missoula. Van transportation is also available.

The full conference program, which kicks off at 4:30 on Monday with Chris Thornberg, is also shaping up extremely well. Check out all the details at www.newwest.net/realestate, or call 406-829-1725 if you have questions. 

Bankruptcy Payout

Hundreds of employees, tradesmen and vendors who are owed money by Yellowstone Club will be getting paid this week in accordance with the private ski resort’s emergence from bankruptcy protection. A spokeswoman said 800 checks have gone out this week - a welcome cash infusion not only for the individuals and businesses involved, but for the slumping economies of Bozeman and Big Sky.

The payments this week cover back wages owed to current and former employees as well as so-called “convenience claims” - amounts of $5,000 dollars or less.

Obama in Montana

When the news broke a couple of weeks ago that President Obama would visit Bozeman for a town hall meeting and then travel with his family to Yellowstone Park, there was a frenzy of rumor about where, exactly, the First Family would go and where they would stay. Some reports had him fishing at the Sun Ranch and staying at the elite Yellowstone Club. Others suggested they'd overnight in the Park.

In the end, though, the Presidential entourage ended up at the Summit Hotel at Big Sky Resort, a modern, 10-story hotel at the base of Lone Mountain that's high-end but casual. Michelle and Sasha and Malia went whitewater rafting on the Gallatin River Friday afternoon while the President went fly fishing, and they then had a quiet dinner at the hotel and toasted some marshmallows over a bonfire. The next morning they left by car for Yellowstone - all in all, an itinerary not too different from what any upper-middle-class family might have done with one day of vacation in Southwest Montana.

For the staff of Big Sky Resort, though, and for public safety and law enforcement agencies and various lucky merchants in Big Sky, Friday and Saturday were about as far from routine as could be. Taylor Middleton, general manager of Big Sky Resort, recounted in an interview Sunday that the experience was both exhilarating and a bit surreal. [more]

The President in Montana

President Barack Obama, appearing genuinely pleased to be back in the Big Sky state, talked health care Friday with an enthusiastic crowd at a Bozeman airport hanger, fielding a variety of questions from local residents and stressing the importance of creating a system that protects consumers from insurance company abuses.

"TV loves a ruckus," Obama said, in reference to the combative town hall meetings that have played out on cable news in recent weeks. "But what you haven't seen are the many constructive meetings going on across the country, people coming together to have a constructive discussion and asks questions. That reflects a lot more than what we're seeing on TV."

There were no confrontations or disruptions among the crowd of about 1,500, with the great majority appearing to be strong supporters of the president.

[more]

The President in Montana

When candidate Obama made the rounds in Montana last year, he promised to come back sometime and maybe do some fly-fishing. He's keeping that pledge, but even assuming he gets a few casts in during the First Family's visit to Yellowstone Park late Friday and Saturday, the main event - a town hall meeting on health care reform Friday at the airport in Belgrade - promises to be the highlight of the trip, at least from the public's perspective.

Presidential visits are always a big deal, especially in places where they hardly ever happen, like Montana. And this trip, coming in the midst of a raucus national debate on health care reform, is shaping up to be more important than most from a policy perspective. In part because of the central role being played by Senator Max Baucus in creating the health-care legislation, Montana is emerging as an important bellwether of public attitudes on the issue. [more]

Oct. 12-13 in Missoula

We're once again gearing up for our flagship conference, Real Estate and Development in the Northern Rockies, and this year's 4th annual event promises to be our best yet.

The conference will kick off on Monday, Oct. 12 with a talk by Christopher Thornberg of Beacon Economics, one of the few economists in the country who predicted the real estate bust. Thornberg, returning for his fourth appearance at the event and will offer an analysis of the real estate market in the region and predictions for the next 18 months. His talk will be downtown this year, at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts, and will be followed by the opening reception.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the program will feature an exclusive on-stage interview with Sam Byrne, principal of CrossHarbor Capital Partners and the new owner of the Yellowstone Club. Byrne will discuss the future of the Club and the luxury resort market in the West.

Luther Propst, executive director of the Sonoran Institute, one of the most influential conservation groups in the West, will offer a keynote talk on Tuesday, addressing the economic benefits of land conservation.

You can see all the details and register online at www.newwest.net/realestate. [more]

Obama and the Farm Belt

The Obama Administration will be taking a close look at market concentration in agriculture as part of its stepped-up enforcement of antitrust laws, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Farmers and ranchers have long been concerned about consolidation in food packaging and distribution. And in recent years many have sounded the alarm bell about the dominance of Monsanto in particular in the market for soybean, corn and other seeds. Monsanto dominates the genetically modified (GMO) seed business, which in turn increasingly dominates seed sales as a whole.

Earlier this year Monsanto acquired WestBred, a Montana wheat seed company. In an opinion piece on NewWest.Net, Kristina Hubbard, a consultant to the Farmer to Farmer Campaign on Genetic Engineering said the deal threatened to further Monsanto's dominance and called for closer antitrust scrutiny of the company.

The Journal reported that federal antitrust enforcers were looking at GMO seeds, dairy processing and meat packing.

"Washington has often sympathized with farmers who find themselves selling their commodities to fewer and larger processors. But the Obama administration is taking a further step, with plans for a nationwide series of sessions next year for the U.S. Agriculture Department to hear competitive concerns of farmers," according to the Journal.

Dolan Pays Up

Chris Evans, owner of a small finish carpentry business in Bozeman, was mad as hell and decided not to take it anymore.

Last fall, he'd done a big chunk of work for Jim Dolan, owner of the troubled Spanish Peaks development near Big Sky. It was a rush job, trying to finish some condos that Dolan was building on property he owned at the neighboring Yellowstone Club. Evans hired extra crew to get the job done.

And then Dolan didn't pay. [more]

No Fires Here

This is usually the season for hot, dust-dry and smokey air here in Western Montana, with the occasional thunderstorms offering little in the way of precipitation but lots of fire-starting lightening. But it's been pouring rain here in Missoula for most of today, on top of a whole lot of rain yesterday, and concern about fires has now been replaced with concern about floods.

Flash-flood and small-stream flood advisories are in place for much of Western and Central Montana, and more than two inches of rain have fallen in Missoula. Most of Idaho has also seen heavy rains - NewWest.Net Boise correspondent Jill Kuraitis reported yesterday that the thunderstorms there were the most dramatic she had seen in ages, and the lightening strikes were starting fires that were then immediately put out by heavy rain.

The forecast is for more rain, and then clearing by Sunday with more rain by the middle of next week. In fire parlance, it looks like this qualifies as a "season-ending event," and we're all pretty happy not to have to worry about wildfires for the rest of this summer at least. The one significant fire in Western Montana, the Kootenai Creek fire, will likely be all but out by tomorrow.

Luxury Resorts in Crisis

Moonlight Basin, the ski-and-golf resort and real estate development near Big Sky, is facing foreclosure by its major lender, Lehman Bros., according to numerous sources with knowledge of the situation. A letter from Moonlight founder and owner Lee Poole to resort property owners said Lehman had "made the decision to begin foreclosure proceedings," though the Madison County court clerk said no foreclosure notice had yet been received.

The letter said "It is Lehman's intention to continue summer and winter operations at the resort." A spokeswoman for Lehman Bros., which is in bankruptcy but continues to operate as it unwinds its many businesses, declined to comment.

Moonlight borrowed about $170 million from Lehman Bros. in 2007, and the funds were used to buy out Poole's two partners and continue construction at the property. The investment bank collapsed last fall, and at around the same time Moonlight began to experience a severe cash squeeze due to the collapse of real estate sales. The resort did open for ski operations last winter, and the first nine holes of the spectacular Jack Nicklaus golf course have been completed. But it's been clear since the fall that Moonlight would not be able to continue to operate without a sale or a major cash infusion.
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