Raw land in small wine town

[Justin Boyd]

I'd like to get some ideas about the current landscape of commercial real estate. I'm coming from having some success with residential real estate. Has anyone tried to operate a business on a plot of land with minimal development until it builds revenue for a structure (flea-market, private park, outdoor event venue, etc)? If it would be more beneficial to have a structure, what are some cost-effective solutions?

I plan to buy the half-acre plot from a land bank in a small town in northeast Ohio. The city has a few popular vineyards and every year a festival is held where roughly a quarter million visitors attend. The land is at the edge of where the festival ends and could be used seasonally for parking/vendor renting for that festival.

[JD Martin]

Quote from @Justin Boyd:

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, those numbers are accurate. Pre-covid it was around 1M visitors for a 3 day weekend festival. It’s a celebration for the fermenting of the grapes in the region.

Great notes about development. I’m hoping to not build until I acquire more revenue from profits of the plot via flea market, parking, boat parking, or something else that requires minimal investment. Once I build some profit I plan on putting a structure down. If that would take too long or I can’t find a solution that would be profitable I’m considering leasing the land. But I’m unfamiliar with commercial land leasing.

 That approach will take you forever. What you might consider is finding a partner that has the development capacity, and figure out an equitable development cost and profit split.