Post by Woody Williams on Aug 1, 2008 16:01:02 GMT -5
Game Trails in Kentucky is up for auction..
This is the ground that woodmaster referenced in his other thread entitled - Greg Miller - In Pursuit
huntingindiana.proboards52.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=deerhunting&thread=20566&page=1
Woodmaster and I used to hunt this ground back when it belonged to Alcoa.
I wonder if Thompson Center's pockets are deep enough to buy it?
The article..
Kimball selling 11,700 acres
One of the most unique pieces of property in Kentucky will likely be broken up into small tracts and sold at a public auction later this year.
Kimball International, the furniture company based in Jasper, Ind., owns 11,700 acres of property in Crittenden and Union counties. It's the largest contiguous, privately-owned parcel in the state at almost 19 square miles. It has more than four miles of Ohio River frontage that is above the flood plain, unusual for the Kentucky side of the river between Henderson and Paducah, and it straddles the Tradewater River for about 10 miles from near Sturgis to Caseyville. The property was previously owned by Alcoa, also known as the Aluminum Company of America, based in Pittsburgh.
Those who keep track of land values say that the Kimball property will be highly attractive to outdoorsmen. Its hunting qualities are well known. Game Trails, a nationally-known outfitter, has had the property leased for a few years and many of the biggest names in deer hunting have been there to tape hunting videos for commercial television shows and DVDs.
Ronnie Heady, Crittenden County Property Valuation Administrator, says it's prime hunting property, and he's curious to see how much it brings.
"I think it will generate a whole lot of interest," said Heady, who notes that the average farm selling in Crittenden County for its hunting or recreational value has been about $2,000 per acre.
Heady said that when paper company Westvaco divested itself of about 7,000 acres in Crittenden and Livingston counties a few years ago, it created a huge spike in demand which more than doubled the selling price of raw real estate.
While land speculators and hunting enthusiasts will be eager to get a shot at buying a few hundred acres that produce trophy whitetails, county leaders are not sure whether news of the sale is good or bad for the local economy.
"Hopefully, it will sell to someone who will do something with it instead of letting in just lay there," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown. "I hope someone buys it for the coal reserves and starts mining it. That's my biggest interest."
Crittenden County Coal Company leased and mined a portion of the Kimball property for several months starting two years ago. The coal mining rights were later assigned to Phoenix Coal Co., headquartered in Louisville. Gary Phillips, a spokesman for Phoenix Coal, said his company no longer has a mining lease on the property, but is still working on a reclamation project there from previous mining activities.
The Kimball property has a great deal of agriculture and timber value. Kimball originally purchased the land from Alcoa 10 years ago. Aloca had assembled the large piece of property, buying it from private owners 50 years ago for what was to be a power plant and smelting operation. That never developed and Alcoa put it on the market, asking $13 million.
Kimball wanted the land for its vast amount of standing timber, and in 1998 bought nearly all of Alcoa's original 12,400 acres. Alcoa kept a small piece on the Ohio River where there is a loading terminal.
Marty Vaught, director of public relations for Kimball, said his company's business plan has changed and it's selling off its landholdings and mills in order to concentrate on manufacturing.
"This is not going to be a fire sale," Vaught said. "This is a very significant and unique piece of property. We're going to be doing a lot of promoting and advertising."
While details have not been disclosed, it appears that the property will broken into small tracts and sold at public auction sometime this fall.
"There should be a news release with all of the details coming out in about a month, if not sooner," Vaught said.
While a great deal of the land is rugged timber country, there are about 2,200 tillable acres and 4,000 acres of pasture land, most of it fenced. A couple of Union County farmers lease the land for cattle, pasture and row cropping.
It is perhaps best known for its deer hunting. Game Trails, formerly a subsidiary of firearms and shooting accessory manufacturer Thompson Center, has held the hunting rights the past few years. The Kimball spokesman said it's unclear what will happen with the lease agreement with Game Trails or the farmers.
"Those are the things that our attorneys are looking at right now," he said.
Game Trails already has hunts booked for this fall and so far there is no indication of a change in the status for those 2008 packages.
Crittenden County's judge-executive hopes another coal mining company will be interested in buying at least some of the property and reopening the surface mine. Crittenden County receives at least $1 million a year in coal severance benefits if coal is mined within its borders.
People familiar with the coal reserves on the Kimball property say that it is high BTU coal with a unique market value. The only problem is that it's hard to mine and there isn't too much of it.
However, as energy prices soar, Brown said, the value of coal will continue to rise. It's currently selling for about twice as much as it was two years ago.
Michele Edwards, the tourism director in Marion, said the sale of the Kimball property creates some great opportunities for outdoors activities, especially those being pushed right now through Kentucky's Adventure Tourism efforts.
"There are no public lands in this county for hunting or other outdoor uses," Edwards said. "If the state owned public use property in this county it would definitely help tourism and it would give local people some opportunities that they don't have otherwise."
Edwards said that Paddy's Bluff drew thousands of visitors each year before it closed. A privately developed ATV park might be a profitable option for some of the Kimball property, she said. The state's Adventure Tourism law provides some potential for funding and also limits liability for landowners that allow public use of their property.
This is the ground that woodmaster referenced in his other thread entitled - Greg Miller - In Pursuit
huntingindiana.proboards52.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=deerhunting&thread=20566&page=1
Woodmaster and I used to hunt this ground back when it belonged to Alcoa.
I wonder if Thompson Center's pockets are deep enough to buy it?
The article..
Kimball selling 11,700 acres
One of the most unique pieces of property in Kentucky will likely be broken up into small tracts and sold at a public auction later this year.
Kimball International, the furniture company based in Jasper, Ind., owns 11,700 acres of property in Crittenden and Union counties. It's the largest contiguous, privately-owned parcel in the state at almost 19 square miles. It has more than four miles of Ohio River frontage that is above the flood plain, unusual for the Kentucky side of the river between Henderson and Paducah, and it straddles the Tradewater River for about 10 miles from near Sturgis to Caseyville. The property was previously owned by Alcoa, also known as the Aluminum Company of America, based in Pittsburgh.
Those who keep track of land values say that the Kimball property will be highly attractive to outdoorsmen. Its hunting qualities are well known. Game Trails, a nationally-known outfitter, has had the property leased for a few years and many of the biggest names in deer hunting have been there to tape hunting videos for commercial television shows and DVDs.
Ronnie Heady, Crittenden County Property Valuation Administrator, says it's prime hunting property, and he's curious to see how much it brings.
"I think it will generate a whole lot of interest," said Heady, who notes that the average farm selling in Crittenden County for its hunting or recreational value has been about $2,000 per acre.
Heady said that when paper company Westvaco divested itself of about 7,000 acres in Crittenden and Livingston counties a few years ago, it created a huge spike in demand which more than doubled the selling price of raw real estate.
While land speculators and hunting enthusiasts will be eager to get a shot at buying a few hundred acres that produce trophy whitetails, county leaders are not sure whether news of the sale is good or bad for the local economy.
"Hopefully, it will sell to someone who will do something with it instead of letting in just lay there," said Crittenden County Judge-Executive Fred Brown. "I hope someone buys it for the coal reserves and starts mining it. That's my biggest interest."
Crittenden County Coal Company leased and mined a portion of the Kimball property for several months starting two years ago. The coal mining rights were later assigned to Phoenix Coal Co., headquartered in Louisville. Gary Phillips, a spokesman for Phoenix Coal, said his company no longer has a mining lease on the property, but is still working on a reclamation project there from previous mining activities.
The Kimball property has a great deal of agriculture and timber value. Kimball originally purchased the land from Alcoa 10 years ago. Aloca had assembled the large piece of property, buying it from private owners 50 years ago for what was to be a power plant and smelting operation. That never developed and Alcoa put it on the market, asking $13 million.
Kimball wanted the land for its vast amount of standing timber, and in 1998 bought nearly all of Alcoa's original 12,400 acres. Alcoa kept a small piece on the Ohio River where there is a loading terminal.
Marty Vaught, director of public relations for Kimball, said his company's business plan has changed and it's selling off its landholdings and mills in order to concentrate on manufacturing.
"This is not going to be a fire sale," Vaught said. "This is a very significant and unique piece of property. We're going to be doing a lot of promoting and advertising."
While details have not been disclosed, it appears that the property will broken into small tracts and sold at public auction sometime this fall.
"There should be a news release with all of the details coming out in about a month, if not sooner," Vaught said.
While a great deal of the land is rugged timber country, there are about 2,200 tillable acres and 4,000 acres of pasture land, most of it fenced. A couple of Union County farmers lease the land for cattle, pasture and row cropping.
It is perhaps best known for its deer hunting. Game Trails, formerly a subsidiary of firearms and shooting accessory manufacturer Thompson Center, has held the hunting rights the past few years. The Kimball spokesman said it's unclear what will happen with the lease agreement with Game Trails or the farmers.
"Those are the things that our attorneys are looking at right now," he said.
Game Trails already has hunts booked for this fall and so far there is no indication of a change in the status for those 2008 packages.
Crittenden County's judge-executive hopes another coal mining company will be interested in buying at least some of the property and reopening the surface mine. Crittenden County receives at least $1 million a year in coal severance benefits if coal is mined within its borders.
People familiar with the coal reserves on the Kimball property say that it is high BTU coal with a unique market value. The only problem is that it's hard to mine and there isn't too much of it.
However, as energy prices soar, Brown said, the value of coal will continue to rise. It's currently selling for about twice as much as it was two years ago.
Michele Edwards, the tourism director in Marion, said the sale of the Kimball property creates some great opportunities for outdoors activities, especially those being pushed right now through Kentucky's Adventure Tourism efforts.
"There are no public lands in this county for hunting or other outdoor uses," Edwards said. "If the state owned public use property in this county it would definitely help tourism and it would give local people some opportunities that they don't have otherwise."
Edwards said that Paddy's Bluff drew thousands of visitors each year before it closed. A privately developed ATV park might be a profitable option for some of the Kimball property, she said. The state's Adventure Tourism law provides some potential for funding and also limits liability for landowners that allow public use of their property.
