How much is a dozen acres of vacant land worth to a billionaire? According to Bill Koch, it was worth $16 million.
Son of Oxbow Carbon founder and Koch Industries founder lists 11-acre vacant lot in Cape Cod, WSJ ReportWhile the combined price for the five lots is $16 million, buyers can also snap up the lots individually for $3 million to $3.5 million each.
Koch owns at least 40 acres in the area, including a water compound and five homes in Osterville. While Koch’s Oyster Harbors estate is waterfront, the five parcels — ranging from 2 to 2.5 acres — are not.
Koch purchased his first home in Oyster Harbors in the 1980s. He also bought the marina at Osterville so he would have room to store his various ships.
Over the past 10 years, though, his fortune has been growing. In 2012, he bought a house for $7 million. A year later, he purchased an adjacent 30-plus acres from the late philanthropist Bunny Mellon for $19.5 million. A year later, he purchased 10 acres from the DuPont family for an undisclosed sum.
Koch, who sold his stake in Koch Industries in the 1980s before founding Oxbow, had the luxury of not needing vacant land and wanted to capitalize on their appreciating value. The 83-year-old still plans to build another house on his land so that each of his children can have a home.
Zenas Crocker of LandVest, an affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, is in charge of the listing.
Crocker told the publication that the average sale price for a non-waterfront home in Oyster Harbor is between $3 million and $6 million. Even individuals who want to buy part of the Koch land will need to own the upper end of the range in order to build a house after purchasing the land.
Koch also owns a property in Palm Beach and two properties in Colorado, one in Aspen and one in Paonia.
— holden warner
