With its $75 million expansion of Win-River Casino on hold, the Redding Rancheria is buying real estate.

The tribe last week purchased 64 acres of interstate highway frontage property from the McConnell Foundation.

Known as Lowry Ranch, the land is just north of Clear Creek, which borders the casino off Highway 273.

Lowry Ranch had been in the foundation's portfolio since 1996, when the Redding philanthropic organization inherited it from the late Leah McConnell.

"We have been in discussion with the rancheria for many years about the Lowry property," Shannon Phillips, McConnell's vice president of operations, said Monday. "They have expressed interest ... and they were motivated buyers."

Phillips declined to disclose the sale price.

Deed on the Lowry Ranch land transferred Dec. 29, one week before tonight's Redding City Council meeting, when the Redding Rancheria will discuss in closed session a potential purchase of the 82-acre city-owned Stratte property off Interstate 5 in the Churn Creek bottom.

The Rancheria also owns the 150-acre parcel to the north of the Stratte land, property the tribe purchased in January 2004 for $1.7 million. The land is adjacent to the tribe's 96-room Hilton Garden Inn, west of I-5 and south of the South Bonnyview Road exit.

Speculation has swirled for years that the tribe bought the 150 acres, the so-called Strawberry Fields property, to build a casino adjacent to I-5. But to date, rancheria officials have denied the rumors.

Rancheria CEO Tracy Edwards was on vacation Monday and was not available for comment, tribal spokeswoman Maria Orozco said.

The Lowry Ranch purchase came about two weeks after Win-River Casino general manager Gary Hayward said in a Record Searchlight story that plans to expand the gaming center were on hold. Hayward blamed the economy and a souring credit market.

In the interim, Win-River will do a $2 million renovation on its casino, work that is scheduled to start this month and be complete by the fall, Hayward said.

Lowry Ranch was envisioned to house a RV park, which would have complemented the California Horse Park. But plans to build the $100 million equestrian center on the McConnell-owned Gore Ranch land were terminated by the foundation in March 2006.

"It's a piece of property that can stand alone from the Gore Ranch," Phillips said. "It wouldn't prohibit the foundation from going forward for any future plans for Gore Ranch by disposing of this (Lowry Ranch) property."

Phillips said her organization has no plans at this time to develop the 2,000-acre Gore Ranch, which is not for sale.

But Lowry Ranch wasn't on the market either.

The Redding Rancheria approached McConnell about buying the 64-acre parcel, Phillips said.

"We came to a place over the last year of negotiations where they seemed to be the most motivated buyer for the property and it made the most sense for them to acquire if we chose to sell it," Phillips said.

Meanwhile, the rancheria has no imminent plans to develop 56 acres of freeway frontage in Anderson that it bought in mid-2007.

The tribe paid $3.2 million for the land, which sits on the west side of Interstate 5 near Auto Mall Drive.

Anderson Planning Director John Stokes said Monday that most of the preliminary site work rancheria officials have done on the land has been to prepare it for a potential sale.

Reporter David Benda can be reached at 225-8219 or at dbenda@redding.com.