Government entities fall short in bid for property

Officials despondent that late push wasn’t enough, as businessman gets site

LIVERMORE » The final price for a vast cattle ranch wound up at less than the list price, a moving target that eluded government attempts to buy the mammoth property — including an eleventhhour bid by a local water agency.

The Alameda County Water District, 17 state lawmakers, state officials and land conservancy groups were among the government, public agency and special interest organizations that were involved in an effort to put the mammoth ranch lands into public ownership such as a water district property or a new state park.

Now, through a $63.5 million series of purchases Oct. 22 in four different counties, two private organizations that are both headed by Danville-based business executive and rancher William Brown have become the new owner of the N3 Cattle Co. ranch.

The ranch sprawls over 50,500 acres in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County.

“This was an extraordinary lost opportunity,” said John Weed, one of the five members of the board of directors of the Alameda County Water District.

It never became clear whether state or regional government officials managed to fashion a purchase offer that would be near the original asking price of $72 million in July 2019 or a reduced price of $68 million that was disclosed in April 2020.

“I am disappointed to not be able to acquire this great property,” said Sen. Steven Glazer, DContra Costa, whose district includes sections of Contra Costa County and Alameda County. “This had great potential.”

Glazer was one of the 17 lawmakers who had pressed Gov. Gavin Newsom to pursue the transformation of the site into a state park.

Despite considerable talk, discussions and maneuvers by

state and regional government entities, the Alameda County Water District appears to be the only such government entity to actually place a bid for the 50,500-acre property.

“Alameda County Water District made several attempts to acquire the property, including submitting a backup offer,” said Sharene Gonzales, a spokesperson for the Fremont-based water agency.

However, even that gambit came only after it became known in July that the N3 Cattle Co. ranch was in escrow to be purchased. At that point, the

asking price had been cut to $68 million.

That Water District backup bid was submitted in case the escrow failed to close and the deal involving the William Brownled groups collapsed. The Alameda County agency declined to disclose the amount of its backup bid.

In January 2020, the state government, under a proposal that Gov. Gavin Newsom floated, appeared willing to pony up as much as $20 million to buy and create a new state park.

Around that same time, the Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Lands claimed they had cobbled together $30 million for the purchase of the property.

“A very attractive package

was put together,” Sen. Glazer said. “We made a very serious effort.”

If those funds were pooled, at $50 million, that was still 21% below the ultimate purchase price and 26% below the last known asking price of $68 million. The senator, however, didn’t disclose the dollar value of the state package.

Here’s what the Brownled groups paid in the four counties that contain the cattle ranch lands, according to public documents filed Oct. 22 in the quartet of jurisdictions:

• Santa Clara County: $24.8 million, 19,935 acres, approximately $1,243 an acre.

• Alameda County: $21.3 million, 16,880 acres, $1,265 an acre.

• San Joaquin County: $11.7 million, 9,095 acres, $1,285 an acre.

• Stanislaus County: $5.7 million, 4,590 acres, $1,240 an acre.

The properties now are owned by William Brown Foundation and WEB Ranch; the WEB would correspond to William Edward Brown’s full name.

William Brown Foundation paid $53.4 million in cash for property purchases in all four counties, the public records show. WEB Ranch paid $10.1 million for parcels in Santa Clara County and Alameda County.

WEB Ranch also obtained $8 million in financing for its purchases in Alameda County and Santa Clara County, loan documents

filed in the two counties show. American AgCredit, which specializes in financing for farmers and ranchers, provided the loan.

With the property in private ownership, state officials will be left to wonder what sort of a public park the cattle ranch might have become.

Alameda County Water District officials also may have to ponder the what-ifs of the two-year odyssey of the largest land purchase in California.

The water agency has a huge stake in this because 90% of the 50,500-acre ranch is in the watershed of Alameda Creek, which provides 40% of the district’s water supply. Much of the ranch acreage is in the watershed of Del Valle Reservoir.

“We hopefully will be able to work with Mr. Brown to reduce flood risk and allow a greater water supply,” said Weed, the water district board member.

The state recently accomplished the purchase of the 3,000-acre Tesla Park site near Livermore to ensure that those parcels can become state-controlled open space rather than turn into a site for offroad vehicles, Sen. Glazer noted.

Yet at 4.7 square miles, that East Bay purchase is only a small fraction of the 79 square miles represented by the immense N3 Cattle property.

“We continue to look for ways to protect open space for the benefit of nature and people,” Sen. Glazer said.