KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Jeld-Wen, the Klamath Falls-based window and door maker, confirmed Friday it is ending its decades-long involvement creating and operating Central Oregon destination resorts, announcing the sale of Eagle Crest and Brasada Ranch, as well as Running Y Ranch, to a new investment and operating partnership.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Eagle Crest property owners were assured in a letter received Friday that there would be little change in the management team at the resort, and that the new owners plan extensive upgrades over the coming year.

The Oregonian had reported late last month that Jeld-Wen had put its Northwest resorts up for sale. The firm is privately held and discloses little about its finances, employing about 20,000 with revenues of more than $2 billion.

Buffeted by the downturn in the housing industry, Jeld-Wen also ended its sponsorship of the Tradition golf tournament on the PGA Champions Tour this year, prompting its relocation from Crosswater Golf Club near Sunriver to Alabama.

Brasada Ranch was the property that sold Northview and its financial backers on the deal, Simon Hallgarten, a partner with Northview, told The Oregonian Friday.

The 1,800-acre golf- and equestrian-based resort in Powell Butte is "the jewel in the crown" of the Jeld-Wen portfolio, he said.

"We walked into a true destination resort, and it has never been marketed as such," Hallgarten said. "The natural setting is one of the most spectacular I've seen."

A hospitality company, Northview will shift the emphasis of the Jeld-Wen resorts away from residential real estate sales to focus more on drawing short-term visitors to the resorts' hotels and rental houses.

"Pretty much everything is half price in Bend," Hallgarten said of the housing market. "We don't see that coming back any time soon. Certainly for the next two years, what will make the Brasada compelling is making it a premier destination resort."

---

Here's the full Jeld-Wen announcement

JELD-WEN inc. is pleased to announce the sale of three resorts in Central and Southern Oregon to a new partnership comprising Northview Hotel Group (“Northview”) and a subsidiary of funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management LP.

The sale includes Brasada Ranch in Powell Butte, Eagle Crest Resort near Redmond (Bend), and the Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls. The sale also includes RidgeWater, a planned community near the Running Y.

The transaction was facilitated by Bob Eaton of Colliers International, and JELD-WEN was advised by International Resorts in Development Service Inc. of Reno, Nev.

The divestiture does not include Silver Mountain, Harbor Isles, or the working cattle ranch located on the west side of Highway 140 across from the entrance to the Running Y Ranch Resort.

Northview will manage the resorts on behalf of the partnership, and it will oversee a strategic repositioning plan focused on enhancing the resorts’ amenities and the guest experience. David Zeuske, Northview partner and the president of NVHG Management, will oversee the management of the resort portfolio going forward.

“We are extremely excited to be involved with these three spectacular resorts and to have an opportunity to invest in Central and Southern Oregon’s tourism and real estate industries. JELD-WEN has created three well-built and well-planned communities that are already recognized for their exceptional offerings,” Zeuske said. “While I still entertain fond memories of my summers spent in Central Oregon, my partners at Northview and I are looking forward to creating lasting impressions for others at our new resorts for generations to come.”

“This is an important strategic decision for JELD-WEN, and I am very pleased that Northview is such a great fit for the resort properties’ strengths and future potential,” stated Rod Wendt, JELD-WEN president and CEO. “I am very appreciative of all of the employees of JELD-WEN Development inc.,” Wendt said.

Leading with a Hospitality-focused Approach

Northview’s hospitality-focused repositioning strategy at the three resorts will leverage the solid foundation created by JELD-WEN, starting with the exceptional team of managers and associates, almost all of whom will be staying on with Northview. In addition to bringing its proprietary management tools and systems to the resorts, Northview intends to invest in upgrades at all three properties: from lobby and guest room renovations at Eagle Crest and Running Y Ranch to a newly enlarged spa, a reconfigured lobby, new meeting space and significant landscaping upgrades at Brasada Ranch.

Northview partner Simon Hallgarten expressed confidence in his firm’s ability to realize the potential of each resort, citing recent experience at a project with similar scope managed by Northview in the Florida Keys. In 2007, Northview and its partners, Behringer Harvard and Five Star Realty, acquired Hawks Cay Resort in Duck Key, Fla. The resort includes a 177-room hotel, 297 privately owned villas, a full-service marina, numerous restaurants, a range of unique amenities and a successful real estate brokerage business.

At Hawks Cay Resort (www.hawkscay.com), Northview implemented a strategic repositioning strategy that included a $42 million renovation and significant improvements to the day-to-day operations of the resort, part of which involved working with the individual villa owners to create a new and enhanced rental management program. Under Northview’s management, Hawks Cay has been awarded the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award and was recently named by Travel + Leisure as one of the Top 50 Resorts in North America.

Resorts Cater to Outdoor Enthusiasts

Located just 16 miles northeast of Bend in Central Oregon, Brasada Ranch (www.brasada.com), developed by JELD-WEN in 2005, offers a sophisticated high-desert lifestyle experience. Covering 1,800 acres, Brasada Ranch features 80 upscale cabins that are rented on a nightly basis, a small boutique hotel, upscale dining options, an oversized fitness facility with three pools, a spa, a world class equestrian center and an 18-hole championship golf course designed by PGA Tour professional and Oregonian Peter Jacobsen. Brasada Ranch is located close to a host of exciting outdoor recreation activities, including numerous world-class golf courses in the Bend area, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, cycling and mountain climbing. Home sites at Brasada Ranch are available for sale. Northview’s goal is to establish Brasada Ranch as “the finest destination resort and residential resort community in the Pacific Northwest”.

Eagle Crest® (www.eagle-crest.com) is an established full-service destination resort located just outside the city of Redmond, and just 20 minutes from Bend, on 1,700 acres in Central Oregon’s high desert. The resort includes a 100-room hotel, three golf courses, fitness centers and pools, and a range of local amenities for outdoor enthusiasts including hiking, biking, skiing, rafting, fly fishing and snowshoeing. Northview plans to implement a strategic capital improvement plan that will include significant upgrades to the hotel rooms, hotel lobby, meeting space, golf courses and grounds.

Running Y Ranch (www.runningy.com) is a full-service resort community located in Klamath Falls in the heart of Southern Oregon's Cascade Mountain range. Overlooking Upper Klamath Lake, this community features 3,600 acres of wooded hills and meadows, an 83-room lodge and Oregon’s only Arnold Palmer-designed championship golf course. The community features a range of well-appointed villas, townhomes and chalets. In the next few months, Northview intends to execute a capital improvement project focused on significant upgrades to the hotel guestrooms, lobby, exterior, golf course and grounds.

About JELD-WEN

JELD-WEN inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors with diversified interests in a variety of real estate-related businesses. Based in Klamath Falls, Ore., JELD-WEN began as a small Oregon millwork plant in 1960 and now has operations in more than 25 states and in 22 countries. JELD-WEN is proud to be celebrating its 50th year in business in 2010. In the mid-1970s JELD-WEN was involved in homebuilding ventures around Oregon and consolidated these efforts in 1982 under a new entity called Trendwest Development. Later, Trendwest Development operated separately from JELD-WEN inc. for about 10 years as it pursued a variety of real estate and other business ventures. In 1988 Trendwest Development bought Eagle Crest Resort in Redmond, Ore. After bringing Trendwest Development back into the JELD-WEN fold in 1992, JELD-WEN bought the Running Y Ranch property from Roy Disney, Walt Disney’s brother, and developed the Running Y Ranch Resort on that property over the ensuing years. JELD-WEN built Brasada Ranch in 2004 outside Powell Butte, Ore., and began developing RidgeWater, near the Running Y, in 2006.

About Northview Hotel Group

Northview Hotel Group, based in Westport, Conn., and San Francisco, Calif., is owned by Mark Mance and Simon Hallgarten. Northview was formed to make opportunistic hotel investments in the U.S. and overseas, and to provide hotel management, asset management and construction management services for owners and co-investors.

About Oaktree Capital Management, L.P.

Oaktree is a premier global alternative and non-traditional investment manager with more than $79 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2010. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in distressed debt, high yield and convertible bonds, senior loans, corporate control (including power infrastructure), real estate, emerging market equities and mezzanine finance. Oaktree was founded in 1995 by a group of principals who have worked together since the mid-1980s. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has approximately 600 employees and offices in 13 cities worldwide.

---

And here is the letter sent to Eagle Crest property owners on Friday:

Dear Community Members:

I am pleased to share some exciting news with you about Eagle Crest and our distinctive communities. JELD-WEN Communities has found a new owner for three of its destination resorts, Eagle Crest, Brasada Ranch and The Running Y. On Friday, November 19, Northview Hotel Group purchased these properties, presenting our communities with an array of new opportunities. In addition to retaining the promising vision that was developed by JELD-WEN, Northview anticipates significantly enhancing both the resident and guest experience.

As a property owner within Eagle Crest, you will not experience any disruption to the services you’ve come to expect. There will be very little change to the management or associate teams at the three Resorts, and the faces you’ve come to know in our community will continue to provide for your needs under our new ownership. Our HOA team, under our focused direction, will remain at your service with all homeowners’ association related matters. Over the next year, you will begin to see upgrades to facilities and surroundings. Northview looks forward to sharing specific details as our plans are finalized.

JELD-WEN Communities is confident that Northview will respect and nurture the potential of each resort property. A privately held company, Northview invests in hospitality properties where they see an opportunity to add value. Through its subsidiary NVHG Management and under the direction of Lake Oswego, Oregon native David Zeuske, the properties will be managed with a renewed focus on hospitality, to elevate each community to a level where they can become truly the finest destination resorts in Oregon.

If you have any questions about the transition to Northview, please feel free to contact us. Our contact information is provided below. We look forward to continuing our work in making our communities special and desirable places to live and to experiencing new possibilities through Northview.

Sincerely,

Curt Heimuller

Vice President – Property Services