CODY, Wyo. (AP) -- A billionaire developer is planning to buy a ranch and may turn part of it into a development for families who would pay $2 million or more for the right to vacation there and at other ultra-exclusive resorts around the world.
The Blixseth Group has signed a contract to buy 3,248 acres south of Cody from Hugh and Melissa Fraser, according to Melissa Fraser.
The land eight miles south of Yellowstone Regional Airport was listed for $3.8 million. It includes Monster Lake, which is renowned for its large trout.
"Holy moly," Cody Mayor Roger Sedam said upon hearing of the planned development. "When I was a kid, I used to fish out there."
"It's great to see Cody is in that class of pristine areas," Sedam said. "On the other hand, we don't want to lose that pristine aspect of the area."
Developer Tim Blixseth, who previously developed the exclusive Yellowstone Club near Big Sky, Mont., has an estimated net worth of $1 billion and is listed by Forbes magazine as the nation's 346th wealthiest person in 2005.
Petter Barve, membership director for the Yellowstone Club, said the Monster Lake property could become part of a separate development called World Club. The World Club would be limited to about 500 members and would have about 10 properties around the world.
The club would be family friendly, he said, and properties would be smaller than at the Yellowstone Club, a 13,000-acre gated community with a private ski area and 18-hole golf course. He said a second private golf course might be added.
"We're not looking at doing the same types of things as the Yellowstone Club," he said.
He said the Cody-area development might have around 25 home sites where members could stay while visiting the area.
"It's a place rich in the American spirit and the spirit of the West," he said. "It has that Buffalo Bill allure to it.
"What we've been talking about doing is maybe having a little bit more of the Wild West motif," he said. "But with no intention of overdoing it or making it into a Disneyland type property.
"We're going to try to stay with a low-key profile. I know our members want to have it that way, and these properties need to be in that light. It's not going to be a high-density development."
He said other World Club destinations likely will include properties in Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and South Pacific. A private golf course is slated for property at St. Andrews in Scotland.
He described a typical World Club member as "someone who has money and means but doesn't necessarily want to own the property."
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