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Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006
Land prices spur Hutterite colony to sell
(CBC) - A religious farming community north of Calgary plans to sell out and move away, not because of persecution but because of land prices.
The 35-member Rocky View Colony, near Crossfield, can't afford to expand as its population grows. Land values have jumped tenfold since it was founded nine years ago.
So for the first time anyone can remember, a Hutterite colony in Alberta is selling rather than buying.
Rocky View's leader, John Hofer, says the decision to start over may have been the hardest the colony has ever had to make.
"Me, my wife, my family been here nine years," he said. "I really love this country. ? I would love to spend the rest of my life here, see the mountains on a sunny day."
It took "at least a two, three years to think about it, to sell this place or come to a conclusion what we want to do," he said. "When we first got here, land wasn't that bad, but in the last couple years the land has gone sky high."
Rocky View is 1,000 hectares of rolling farmland, with the Rockies on one horizon and the big sky everywhere else.
The whole spread, including houses, an industrial-sized kitchen and laundry, automated pig and poultry operations, and other buildings, shops and silos is on the block. Asking price: $25 million.
It is a modern, self-sustaining farm operation, but that may not be a selling point.
Allan Fox is a Lethbridge real estate agent who specializes in agricultural properties, especially those involving Hutterites. He said there have been lots of inquiries ? some from overseas ? from people who are interested in the property because of the view of the mountains and its closeness to Calgary.
The tricky part is finding a buyer with the know-how, manpower and financial backing to run it as a farm, he said.
Hofer said he doesn't know where the colony will go. Members will look for a place to put down new roots once Rocky view is sold, he said.
Email this page
Print this page
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2006
Land prices spur Hutterite colony to sell
(CBC) - A religious farming community north of Calgary plans to sell out and move away, not because of persecution but because of land prices.
The 35-member Rocky View Colony, near Crossfield, can't afford to expand as its population grows. Land values have jumped tenfold since it was founded nine years ago.
So for the first time anyone can remember, a Hutterite colony in Alberta is selling rather than buying.
Rocky View's leader, John Hofer, says the decision to start over may have been the hardest the colony has ever had to make.
"Me, my wife, my family been here nine years," he said. "I really love this country. ? I would love to spend the rest of my life here, see the mountains on a sunny day."
It took "at least a two, three years to think about it, to sell this place or come to a conclusion what we want to do," he said. "When we first got here, land wasn't that bad, but in the last couple years the land has gone sky high."
Rocky View is 1,000 hectares of rolling farmland, with the Rockies on one horizon and the big sky everywhere else.
The whole spread, including houses, an industrial-sized kitchen and laundry, automated pig and poultry operations, and other buildings, shops and silos is on the block. Asking price: $25 million.
It is a modern, self-sustaining farm operation, but that may not be a selling point.
Allan Fox is a Lethbridge real estate agent who specializes in agricultural properties, especially those involving Hutterites. He said there have been lots of inquiries ? some from overseas ? from people who are interested in the property because of the view of the mountains and its closeness to Calgary.
The tricky part is finding a buyer with the know-how, manpower and financial backing to run it as a farm, he said.
Hofer said he doesn't know where the colony will go. Members will look for a place to put down new roots once Rocky view is sold, he said.
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