Trump Reportedly Eyes Pristine Seaside Ranch

Rumors trickled in that uber-successful
developer and possessor of perfect hair Donald Trump was in town on
Tuesday for a site visit to the beautiful, historic, and
very-much-for-sale Cojo
Ranch. The Donald is purportedly considering the 8,580-square
foot Gaviota parcel as a potential development and golf course
project. The property has been in and out of escrow six times in
recent years; it currently has an asking price of $110 million.

Hair jokes and reality show antics aside, Trump’s name has
become synonymous with high-profile real estate developments. He
owns roughly 18 million square feet of Manhattan property alone.
(By the way, that amounts to more than half of the total square
feet of space in all of Santa Barbara County.) Trump came into the
national spotlight in 1983 with the completion of the Trump Tower,
a 58-story mixed use skyscraper. Construction on Trump World Tower
— across the street from the UN Buiding in Manhattan — completed in
2001. It remains the tallest of his ventures. With giant towers
sprouting up throughout Manhattan — and all over the globe as well
— one might think Trump was trying to compensate for something.
Regardless of his motives (or the fact that his likeness has been
captured in a line of baby
toupees), the man knows a good deal when he sees one.

Thus, it should not be surprising that
he’d express an interest in the Cojo
Ranch. Originally owned by the Bixby family, the area had been
used as a working cattle ranch since 1913. The Cojo Ranch, which is
located just south of Jalama Beach County Park in northern Santa
Barbara County, was listed as being for sale by real estate
marketers like
Sotheby’s last
spring.

— additional information provided by Drew Mackie