Best Use for Vacant Rural Land

[Vlad Bird]

Hi all,

I have 16 acres of vacant land in rural Ontario and need some help deciding the highest and best use for it. The land is close to Marmora (Crowe Lake) and Madoc, it is at the intersection of Deloro Rd and Malone Rd - link here for Google Maps.

I have considered the following for land use:

1. Home development (pros: good ROI, cons: not a very demanded area with slow churn and sales cycles, large upfront fees)
2. Campground (pros: easy with little upfront fees | cons: I fear there will be very little demand since it is not near any major attractions)
3. Farm leasing (pros: simple contract, makes sense for both parties | cons: not sure if 16 acres is interesting enough for sharecropping, no known resources to get the proper individuals to lease it out)
4. RV/Trailer Park (pros: profitable with medium investment upfront | cons: lots of regulatory permits needed, and again not in an "activity" zone per se)
5. Wind turbine / Solar rent (cons: not enough knowledge, do I need to buy all the equipment and sell energy back to the grid, or do companies rent the land and put their own equipment up?)
6. Tiny home cottage rentals/glamping (pros: experience and can set up easily with the needed capital | cons: worry about the low demand and seasonality of the income stream)
5. Others (Horse stable, paintball rec, storage, etc) cons: not enough product type experience to successfully manage

What would you consider as the best option? Any others I have not thought of that would be suitable for the land and location?