The 250-acre Cypress Mountain ski resort on Vancouver's north shore in British Columbia, Canada and the historic Gatlinburg Sky Life in Gatlinburg, TN are the REIT's newest acquisitions expected to close by first quarter 2006, CNL Income Properties president Byron Carlock says in a prepared statement. CNL will own 100% of the properties, including improvements and leasehold interests, he adds.

"Our investment strategy is driven largely by identifying and partnering with strong operators in each lifestyle property category," Carlock says. "Boyne USA and the [Everett] Kircher family fit that profile and we look forward to growing our relationship with them in the future." He adds CNL is "especially pleased to team up with Boyne in Canada in advance of the 2010 Olympics."

Stephen Kircher, Boyne USA president of Eastern operations, says the deal was done at this time because "the industry is ripe for aggregation and consolidation." Kircher adds, "Over the past 57 years, we have grown into the largest privately held four-season resort company [in the US]. We feel this relationship [with CNL] is a perfect way to continue to expand our management expertise geographically and help to reinvest in an industry that has solid, long-term potential."

Stanley Kircher is also president of Gatlinburg Sky Life LLC. His father, Everett Kircher, founded Boyne USA in 1948.

The Boyne deal is the latest in a string of leisure real estate transactions CNL has completed in the last two years. In December 2004, the REIT acquired a majority interest in 408,000 sf of retail and commercial space at seven resort villages owned by Vancouver, BC-based Intrawest Corp. The properties include Whistler Creekside at Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia and the Village of Baytowne Wharf at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Sandestin, FL. GlobeSt.com previously reported both transactions.

In spring of this year, CNL also acquired a majority interest in 4.8 million sf of wholesale trade space at the Dallas Market Center which the REIT calls the world's largest wholesale merchandise mart. Last month, CNL announced a partnership with Madison, WI-based Great Wolf Resorts, which CNL calls the nation's largest owner, operator and developer of indoor waterpark resorts. In the $114-million deal, the REIT purchased a majority interest in two waterpark hotel properties in the Midwest, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. A closing date for that acquisition hasn't been set.