US Investors Eye Mellonsfolly Ranch
Set in the heart of the North Island in the Ruatiti Valley, Mellonsfolly Ranch is a detailed replica of an 1860s Wyoming frontier town, with a successful manuka honey business on the side. Owner Rob Bartley is selling the entire operation and has already had interest from investors in the US. Bloomberg reports.
Bartley has listed it for US$7.5 million with Ben Hawan of New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty. “We’ve had interest from people in the States who want to invest in New Zealand, which would help them get residency,” Bartley says.
Bartley’s friend John Bedogni constructed the Old West Town from 2002 to 2006 and filled it with material he and his wife had collected on trips to the US.
“Obviously, he is very much a cowboy enthusiast,” says Bartley, with some understatement. “The whole town was drawn by him, and every inch of it is genuine.”
There are 10 “period” buildings, including a licensed saloon, a courthouse that doubles as a cinema, a sheriff’s office, a billiards lounge, a structure called Texas Rose’s Bathhouse, and 13 guest rooms that can accommodate a total of 22 people.
Original article by Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, June 27, 2020.
Photo by Sotheby’s International Realty.
