Blue Ridge Real Estate Company Completes Land Sales to The Conservation Fund for $6.875 Million

The Companies closed on the first sale with The Conservation Fund in June 2009 for the sale of approximately 1,175 +/- acres located in Monroe and Lackawanna Counties, Pennsylvania, for a purchase price of $2,100,000.

The Companies closed on the second sale with The Conservation Fund in August 2009 for the sale of approximately 1,477 +/- acres of land located in Luzerne, Lackawanna and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania, for a purchase price of $4,775,000.

The Companies have reserved the oil and gas rights to all of the land that was sold to The Conservation Fund until December 2031.

Blue Ridge Real Estate Company was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1911 and is believed to be one of the largest owners of investment property in northeast Pennsylvania. Blue Ridge Real Estate Company and Big Boulder Corporation collectively own 14,208 acres of land that are predominately located in the Pocono Mountains, along with 14 acres in various other states. Of this acreage, 8,723 acres are held for investment, 4,971 are held for development and 514 acres are held for recreation. Income is derived from these lands through leases, selective timbering by third parties, sales, and other dispositions. Included in the properties owned by the Companies are: a commercial property comprised of 2.9 acres of vacant land; a shopping center located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; three residential investment properties; the Jack Frost National Golf Course; a 175-acre lake; the Boulder View Tavern; and the Jack Frost Mountain and Big Boulder Ski Areas, which are currently leased to JFBB Ski Areas, Inc., an affiliate of Peak Resorts. Blue Ridge also owns three retail stores, two of which are leased to Walgreen Company, and one of which is leased to Jack in the Box.

Blue Ridge Real Estate Company
Eldon D. Dietterick
Executive Vice President and Treasurer
570-443-8433 ext. 1028