Tom Stewart moved his privately owned food services corporation Services Group of America from West Seattle to Scottsdale, Ariz. last year. Within the next two weeks his 510-acre Misty Isle Ranch on Vashon Island is going on the market.

"Now that he has moved down here, it's just too difficult to handle the actual logistics of the ranching operation," said Brad Parker, vice president of corporate communications for Services Group in Arizona.

Maintaining the ranch required 22 full-time staff members including an ecologist, horticulturist, manager and people responsible for the cattle. Stewart originally raised Arabian horses and in 1986 switched to raising natural Black Angus beef.

Of the 4,000 services group employees from the West Seattle building, about 250 are going to relocate to the corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Parker said. Signs indicate the building is for sale or lease.

"We moved the entire corporation from our West Seattle location to Scottsdale last year primarily because of Washington state's estate tax," Parker said. "The estate tax that was voted in by the state of Washington makes it to the point where we would not be able to continue our business or pass along the business so we would not have long-term prospects to continue the business if we stayed in Washington."

Washington's uniform estate tax apportionment act - passed on April 21, 2006 - is a 19 percent tax on estates worth more than $9 million, Parker said. Services group, founded 34 year ago, has annual revenues of approximately $2.5 billion.

Arizona is fading out its inheritance tax, Parker said.

Putting the ranch on the market was a bittersweet decision for Stewart, Parker said, because of what he has done with the property and because it has been his home. Stewart grew up in Seattle. He raised his children at a private residence on the ranch. He bought the first 98 acres of his property in 1971 and made 15 separate property purchases to add to the ranch during the following 35 years, Parker said.

Stewart has planted 2,000 trees, 3,000 plants, made ponds, developed wildlife habitats, and created extensive custom gardens. At one point the gardens were going to be open to the public or be an arboretum, Parker said. The wildlife habitats attract 10 duck species, pheasants, emperor geese, swans, deer and eagles. A 2,500-foot airstrip was constructed on the property in 1961. The design of the farm is congruent with the best practices of the King County Livestock Management program.

Parker said that Steward recently developed nearly six miles of scenic equestrian trails through 120 acres of the property. He cleared out the underbrush and had the horse floor lined with woodchips. The trails are public.

"I don't think Vashon realizes how much Mr. Stewart contributed to this community in terms of donations and just support that he gave so many of our non-profits. I mean, the equestrian community certainly is probably going to, you know, feel it first," said Lee Okinga, executive director of Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce. "He was amazing in the different organizations and all that he supported, usually anonymously and so I don't even think many of them are aware of what the impact's going to be."

Jason Rosauer and Dave Speers, senior vice presidents of GVA Kidder Mathews of Seattle will be showing and marketing the property within the next two weeks. The asking price is $125 million.

"It's going to go to a worldwide list of high network individuals in corporations and it's going to be advertised in selective publications targeting that audience," Rosauer said. Chances of the property being sold to a developer are very slim, Rosauer said.

When the property goes on the market more information will be available at mistyisleestate.com.

Ruth Wetzel is a Burien freelancer writer and can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com