Broome Ranch Gets 2 New Offers : Real estate: Officials say the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy has the best chance.

The owner of the 640-acre Broome Ranch near Thousand Oaks is considering two new offers made for the tract, including one from a state park agency that appears to have the best shot at acquiring the property, officials said Monday.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and an undisclosed party made separate multimillion-dollar offers for the land last week--following an unsuccessful attempt to sell the property at auction, said Mario Piatelli, whose Beverly Hills real estate firm is representing the estate of George Huck in the land sale.

“They really want the property,” Piatelli said of conservancy officials. “And we’re trying to do everything we can to work with them. We’re moving along.”

Although the offer received from the unidentified party was “very good,” Piatelli said, “I’m confident that it’s going to wind up with the conservancy.”

Piatelli said he could not disclose the specific amount of either offer or any additional details, but said the sale of the land could possibly take place within the next few days.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Joseph T. Edmiston, the executive director of the conservancy.

Edmiston refused to say how much the conservancy was willing to pay for the land and declined to discuss any other details of discussions surrounding a possible land deal.

For years, state park officials have been interested in acquiring Broome Ranch. Located southwest of Thousand Oaks, the sprawling ranch serves as the gateway to an unbroken stretch of state and federal parkland that sweeps through Point Mugu State Park to the ocean.

The most recent attempt to buy the land took place at a public auction July 15.

The conservancy was one of four parties registered to bid at the auction, and the only to make an offer. But the conservancy’s $2.5 million bid was far below the minimum asking price of $5.5 million and was quickly rejected by the property owners before the auction was abruptly ended.

Afterward, David Hardacre, an attorney representing the Huck estate, said the property would probably be taken off the market for three or four years. He said the ranch was a prime parcel worth far more than was offered by park officials.

Edmiston said the conservancy could not pay more for the land than the state’s appraised value of it. He refuses to disclose the amount of the appraisal.

Piatelli said the second offer for the Broome Ranch is from a party who attended the auction but did not register to bid. He would not say whether it was a company or an individual.

If the conservancy were to buy Broome Ranch, it could divide the cost of the property among other public agencies.

The National Park Service, the city of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District are also interested in acquiring portions of the ranch to preserve as open space. Officials of each agency have said they might be willing to buy pieces of the ranch from the conservancy, should it acquire the entire tract.

Broome Ranch, a onetime barley farm, is protected under a federal law that preserves agricultural land. It will be eligible for development in five years.