Salem family buys Sisters land

The Colson family of Salem has purchased another large chunk of land near Sisters.

On July 23, 2003, Sisters Land Company, LLC purchased about 4,220 acres of land just west of Crossroads from the Weyerhaeuser Company of Federal Way, Washington.

Weyerhaeuser acquired the land when it took over Willamette Industries in 2002.

The parcel lies adjacent to the gravel pit owned by Hap Taylor and Sons. It is about one mile west of Crossroads off of the McKenzie Highway 242. The purchase price of the 4,220 acres was $4,780,000, according to Deschutes County records.

Sisters Land Company, LLC has the same registered address as Holiday Retirement Corp. and Colson & Colson Contractors of Salem.

Holiday Retirement is the "largest operator of independent living retirement facilities in North America," according to press releases.

According to an online company profile, Holiday Retirement has "more than 250 facilities in 39 states, Canada, the U.K., and France -- is a leading retirement community operator in Europe and the U.S. It has its own property developer (Colson & Colson Construction), architects (Curry Brandaw), and builders (Colson & Colson General Contractors). Colson & Colson owns the properties, and Holiday Retirement manages them, hiring a few couples to live on-site."

William Colson is identified as President and CEO of Holiday Retirement Corp. in financial filings.

The real estate acquisitions near Sisters are being pursued by Brad Colson, William Colson's son, according to some local investors.

Under the name Ponderosa Land & Cattle Co., the Colsons also purchased more than 27,750 acres extending northeast from the base of Black Butte toward Lake Billy Chinook. The land was bought from Weyerhaeuser on March 26, 2003, for $10,877,870. Most of that property lies in Jefferson County.

Doing business as Butte Land & Cattle Company, the Colsons have also acquired Section 17, adjacent to Black Butte Ranch, for $661,500.

On October 27, 2003, under the name Sisters Commercial LLC, the Colsons purchased the Sisters Chamber of Commerce Building from John Leavitt for $355,000.

LLC stands for "Limited Liability Company." A lawyer told The Nugget that some entrepreneurs prefer LLCs because they combine the limited liability protection of a corporation with the pass-through taxation of a sole proprietorship or partnership.

The fact that the various LLCs have the same representative and address does not necessarily mean they have the same owners, but ownership could not be confirmed by press time.

The Nugget was unable to reach Brad Colson, whose telephone number is unlisted, or Bruce Thorn, the registered representative of the various LLCs.

William Colson did return a call last week but the newspaper was closed and was unable to get back to Colson before he left the state on business.

Arnie Swarens, a principal of RE/Max Town & Country Realty in Sisters, said the Colsons hope to build a destination resort on the larger parcel they bought last spring.

Swarens said that the Colsons hope to build "the most fabulous resort the West has ever known. That is what he (Brad Colson) would like to do." Swarens thought the resort would take about 10,000 acres of the land just north of Sisters in Jefferson County.

Of the property off the McKenzie Highway, Swarens said "that was a parcel he bought to see if he could make some money on it ... to sell it as 160-acre parcels or something."

Swarens said the Colsons were "great people, wonderful people to have in the community."

Of the project, he said "they have all the resources in the world, and all the desire. They've said, 'We are going to make this happen, somehow.'"