Kevin Costner selling land in South Dakota

[July 12, 2013]  DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) -- Hollywood actor Kevin Costner is asking $14 million for 1,000 acres of land he owns near the Old West gambling town of Deadwood in western South Dakota's Black Hills.

The property includes the site of the ill-fated Dunbar casino resort, a $100 million project that would have included a golf course and a steam-powered passenger train. It never materialized.

The listing does not include Costner's Midnight Star casino and restaurant, the tallest building on Deadwood's Main Street, or the $6 million visitor attraction he owns on the town's north edge called Tatanka: Story of the Bison.

Costner filmed much of his Academy Award-wining movie "Dances with Wolves" in South Dakota.

"He has a strong sense of loyalty to the area and it was a hard decision for him," real estate agent Mike Percevich said, adding that it took months for Costner to make up his mind.

There are separate listings for three pieces of property, with asking prices of $7.4 million, $1.2 million and $5.4 million.

The $7.4 million listing includes the property that at one time was being prepared for the resort. Completed work includes land leveling, parking lots, and water, sewer, and storm drains.

"The ground has been prepared for a resort, which was to be called the Dunbar," Percevich said. "Everything's done up there. They were just getting ready to start setting the foundation and it stopped.

"The kind of money and time that has gone into this is unprecedented," Percevich said. "It's a shame for them, but a definite benefit for the next guy."

Costner and his brother Dan proposed the construction of the 320-room resort in 1993, shortly after the release of "Dances With Wolves." It was named for Costner's movie character, Lt. John J. Dunbar. The brothers sunk several million dollars into the project before stopping construction when they could not find enough investors.

"They put far more into it than what they're asking," Percevich said.

[Associated Press]

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