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to Glacier�s East Gate, Offers the Only Opportunity to �Own� the Gate to a Major National Park in the United States NEW YORK, June 29, 2005 � HREC Investment Advisors, a leading international hotel brokerage and investment banking group, with offices in Denver, New York City, Chicago, and Tampa, announced that it has been selected as the exclusive advisor to the Black Family in its disposition of the historic St. Mary Lodge and Resort, which encompasses 86 acres of improved and vacant land directly adjacent to Glacier National Park, St. Mary, Montana. Michael Cahill of HREC Investment Advisors called the offering �A once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase not only a living piece of American history, but, at the same time, a rare piece of real estate that essentially controls the land surrounding an entrance to one of the country�s premier national parks. The hotel and developable land have been assembled by one family owner over a period of over 70 years.�
Sally Black Welder, a member of the Black family, said, �We have owned this resort and developable land since Hugh and Margaret Black recognized its potential and purchased it in 1933.� She continued, �The time has come to make this jewel available to a buyer who can further realize its full development potential in the coming decades.� About the St. Mary Lodge and Resort The St. Mary Lodge and Resort has been Glacier Park�s most complete and centrally located guest facility since 1933. The self-contained Resort offers a total of 117 comfortable rooms, multiple restaurant outlets, grocery store, gas station and retail shops. The Resort provides a perfect location for �base camp� on an adventure vacation in Glacier National Park and surrounding back country. The Black family has painstakingly maintained the Resort since 1933, and in 2001 added the Great Bear Lodge, the most significant addition of luxury rooms at Glacier National Park since the late 1920s. Each standard room has a large bathroom; a wet bar area with refrigerator, color television and coffee maker. Two queen size beds provide a comfortable night sleep for up to four adults, and each room provides satellite television and air-conditioning. First floor rooms have private patios along the creek; second and third floor rooms offer balconies with view. A Storied and Historic Development Opportunity: About the Black Family Having moved to the Park and working as a Park Ranger in 1926, Hugh Black purchased the 86 acres immediately adjacent to the east entrance of Glacier National Park in 1933. Realizing the potential of the St. Mary site and the Going to the Sun Road, he leased some of the land and built a small building that would serve as a gas station and grocery store, and then immediately began building one-room cabins. He subsequently built two motels and a lodge, which would become the St. Mary Lodge and Resort. In the decades that followed, he would accumulate thousands of acres of land in this storied part of Montana. Through the hard years of the Depression, Black persevered in his vision of building the finest and most complete lodging alternative for visitors to the Park. Shortly after World War II, Ronald Reagan stayed at the resort during the filming of �Cattle Queen of Montana� with Barbara Stanwyck. The vision was realized when the resort became a major attraction for visitors in the latter half of the twentieth century, culminating in the Great Bear Lodge addition in 2001. Hugh Black passed away in 1983, leaving six children, more than 20 grandchildren, and a legacy that stands as a classic tale of American entrepreneurialism and rugged individualism. About HREC Investment Advisors HREC is a leading international hotel advisory and investment banking firm that specializes in the lodging industry, with offices in Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; Tampa, FL and New York, NY. The company has arranged hospitality transactions ranging in size from $1 million to $200 million, including limited service hotels, mixed-use resorts, development projects and full service hotel properties. HREC IA has several decades of experience in the lodging sector, and a reputation for implementing a coordinated sales process that maximizes value and expedites the timeline for transactions - utilizing unique resources such as cutting-edge direct marketing, databased e-marketing and deal tracking to benefit HREC clients. Areas of activity for HREC Investment Advisors include hotel finance, structured finance, equity placements and hotel sales. |
The
St. Mary Lodge and Resort is situated on land directly surrounding the
east side entrance to Glacier National Park, which is listed among the
�Top 50� most-visited tourist spots in the United States. Located at one
of the entrances to the Going to the Sun Road, the resort opened in 1933
to coincide with the opening of the Road, and has been owned by the Black
Family ever since. In addition to the resort and the land on which it sits,
the current listing offers 40 additional acres of land with development
potential adjacent to the Park.