20,000-Acre Ranch Up for Grabs at $70M

SACRAMENTO–One of the largest private property holdings in the state is on the market. The family of Charles S. Howard, known for his ownership of the racehorse Seabiscuit, has retained Ken Noack with Grubb & Ellis in Sacramento to dispose of Rancho Arroyo Seco, a 20,000-acre ranch surrounding the town of Ione, which is located 45 miles southeast of Sacramento in Amador County. The asking price is $70 million.Noack tells GlobeSt.com the property has mining interests, agricultural opportunities and long-term development potential. “A master planned community is certainly an option here, and we have all of the typical suitors looking at it like Del Webb and (its parent company) Pulte Homes,” says Noack. “It is in somewhat of a rural county, but it is in the path of growth and because of the geography it lends itself well to development over the next 20 years.” Noack says the $3,500-per-acre price point is market rate for undeveloped, un-entitled property when you take into account that the property generates income from mining, cattle grazing, ranching, farming, hunting and recreation activities. In addition to master developers, interest is coming from high-net-worth rancher types and mining companies, says Noack. “A mining company may buy it and sell off the developable land to homebuilders or a vice versa,” says Noack. “We will align ourselves with a suitor certainly this year.”Located in the foothills of the Sierras, the ranch was originally a Mexican land grant. The Howard family has owned it since 1942. The current ownership includes Howard’s grandson. There are 12 heirs to the ranch in total.