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Owners of Chimney Rock Park putting 1,000-acre park up for sale
Chimney Rock Park, the popular private park set in the cliffs overlooking Lake Lure in western North Carolina, is being offered for private sale, with an asking price of $55 million, owner Todd Morse said Tuesday.
With its dramatic views, elevator ride to the top of the signature Chimney Rock and sheer rock faces, the park has been a tourist destination since it opened in 1902 after it was first developed by Morse's great-great uncle Lucius B. Morse.
The park's trails and cliffs were a site for filming of the 1992 movie "Last of the Mohicans," and it has been featured in numerous other productions.
In a letter to friends of the park, Morse cited rapid changes occurring in the area around the park, including the state's acquisition of land for a park in nearby Hickory Nut Gorge.
The 1,000-acre property is being listed with Wilmington-based Cape Fear Sotheby's International Realty, but will not necessarily be sold through them, Morse said.
"As we work through this process with Sotheby's, we will continue to explore all options, including on-going discussions with the state of North Carolina," he said.
Sotheby's said the park's listing is believed to be the highest asking price ever for a piece of private property in North Carolina.
Could someone develop the area into Mansions overlooking the lake? How sad that would be.
*snort* That has already happened
http://www.lakecountrync.com/sunsetWatch-exterior.jpg (broken link)
I'm hoping that the state and land conservationists can come together and purchase the property in the way that the Dupont land became a state forest, without the fighting and jiggery pokery that the developer engaged in during that episode.
http://www.dupontforest.com/history.asp?mode=print (broken link)
You can gauge the size of the falls by checking out the people standing on the rocks at bottom right
Much of the 1,000-acre Chimney Rock Park put up for sale for $55 million this week would be open to development, should negotiations with the state fail.
Chimney Rock Co. President Todd Morse stressed Wednesday that he and his family — owners of the land for more than a century — want to preserve the park’s trails, the chimney and other sensitive natural areas.
The public roams through about 550 acres that includes the 315-foot-high chimney, a 404-foot-high waterfall and miles of hiking trails. But above the cliffs lie another 450 acres that the public never sees, including an old apple orchard and woods.
“If you had a development up on top of the mountain that could be separate from the park but had some interaction with the park — if you could leave the park basically alone — that’s one thing that could be kind of wonderful,” Morse said.
North Carolina had offered $20 million before the property was put up for sale, Jill Lucas, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, confirmed Wednesday.
The park gets about 200,000 visitors a year, but bad weather and fuel prices have hurt visitation, and local property values continue to rise, prompting the decision to sell.
State Sen. Walter Dalton, who is working to assemble land for a state park planned for the nearby Hickory Nut Gorge area, said the state’s offer was the top price suggested after an independent appraisal of the property’s value.
“It’s a little disappointing that we were in negotiations and we have an objective appraisal and put that money on the line,” only to see Chimney Rock go on the market for nearly three times the appraised price, Dalton, D-Rutherford, said Wednesday.
Negotiations with the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation have been ongoing for more than a year. Morse said they would continue, but his company has to explore all options.
“To sell the entire 1,000 acres — that would be the intention at the moment,” Morse said. “Now, there are any number of possibilities out there. How this will end, I don’t know.”
The Rutherford County Tax Office put the total assessed value of parcels owned by Chimney Rock Co. at $4.9 million, including the park’s buildings. That assessment comes from 2002, a total that likely will go up when property revaluations are completed this year.
Morse and his father, company Chairman Lucius Morse, have hired Cape Fear Sotheby’s International Realty of Wilmington to market the property worldwide.
“Part of what we’re doing with Sotheby’s is getting an accurate market-based value of this unique property,” he said. “That helps with the ultimate goal to do the right thing with this property.”
Chuck Tessier, the owner of a real estate management and consulting firm in Asheville, says putting the property on the open market makes business sense.
“An asset like that is like a piece of art — it has a unique value for different people,” Tessier said. “Only by going out to the free market could you really ascertain what that value might be.”
The hiking trails, cliffs, chimney, falls and other sensitive areas of the park fall under the Town of Lake Lure’s “scenic natural district” zoning, which would restrict development.
About a quarter of the park is in Lake Lure. The rest is in Rutherford County.
Some of the park is too steep to develop, but much of it is wooded and developable. Of the 450 acres on top of the park, only about 50 are in Lake Lure and fall under zoning protection.
The rest are in Rutherford, which has no county-wide zoning and no steep-slopes ordinance, according to Hicks Owens, director of the county’s Planning and Building Inspections Department.
“If a developer bought that land and decided to (build homes or condominiums), they’re entitled to do that,” Owens said. “There are no restrictions.”
Todd Morse said he has no plans to sell to an aggressive developer who wouldn’t respect the property’s history and beauty, but he doesn’t want to limit the Chimney Rock Co. by locking itself into a deal with the state.
“We’re trying to keep open to all options and keep an open mind,” Morse said. “In effect what we’ve done is gotten out of the box. It’s going to be a come-what-may-deal. I’m sure some of the approaches we may get we’re prepared for, but for some we’re not.”
Todd Morse said he has no plans to sell to an aggressive developer who wouldn’t respect the property’s history and beauty, but he doesn’t want to limit the Chimney Rock Co. by locking itself into a deal with the state.
Uh huh. Like 20 million isn't a nice sum?
Quote:
“We’re trying to keep open to all options and keep an open mind,” Morse said. “In effect what we’ve done is gotten out of the box. It’s going to be a come-what-may-deal. I’m sure some of the approaches we may get we’re prepared for, but for some we’re not.”
*cough* eminent domain *cough*
Well, hopefully a deal can be worked out that is suitable to all sides. I'm a believer that some things are worth more than money; the rapidly disappearing scenic lands of NC is one. Riding the Blue Ridge Parkway, it's very disheartening to look out over what were once expanses of undeveloped mountains and seeing subdivisions.
I totally agree with you here Silverwing. They've made money off this land for years as a "private park"...and they still won't accept the state's offer of 20 million? Give me a break...if you're that greedy, then no, I don't trust that you'll look that hard for a buyer that will "respect the property's history and beauty". Puh-leese.
Eminent Domain? I'd support it in this case. That's how many state and national parks have come to be I believe.
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