Agricultural land to multi family

Agricultural land to multi family

Member since 2020 · 76 posts · 61 votes

Hello BP. 

I am not new to RE development, but most of my concentration through the years has been in commercial flex warehousing and industrial development. I am the developer and the builder for all my projects and usually just do a few projects at a time. Most of all my forum activity has been in the commercial section of BP. 

I recently came across an 8 acre property. It is currently zoned agricultural and the property would be great for multi zoning. The seller has agreed to put the sell of the property contingent on rezoning. So, I dont have a ton to lose other than my civil costs, application to the city, lawyer, etc. That can be costly, but I’m ok with taking the risk. 

I dont plan on building anything on the property, if and when, it gets rezoned. I will just market the property under the new zoning. The market has lessened a little on the multi in my area, but I think there is a ton of potential in this property. 

I know I will have to go three or so stories high, but how do you decide on the what density to propose to the city? And then how do you value the property based on the density etc? 

I know my architect and civil eng will help on those deciding factors, but just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts. I’m sure this has been discussed a million times in this forum. 

Thx in advance. 

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  • Kristi KandelPro Member
    Developer · Fort Myers Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 383 posts · 195 votes
    2y
    Quote from @Derek Bell:

    Hello BP. 

    I am not new to RE development, but most of my concentration through the years has been in commercial flex warehousing and industrial development. I am the developer and the builder for all my projects and usually just do a few projects at a time. Most of all my forum activity has been in the commercial section of BP. 

    I recently came across an 8 acre property. It is currently zoned agricultural and the property would be great for multi zoning. The seller has agreed to put the sell of the property contingent on rezoning. So, I dont have a ton to lose other than my civil costs, application to the city, lawyer, etc. That can be costly, but I’m ok with taking the risk. 

    I dont plan on building anything on the property, if and when, it gets rezoned. I will just market the property under the new zoning. The market has lessened a little on the multi in my area, but I think there is a ton of potential in this property. 

    I know I will have to go three or so stories high, but how do you decide on the what density to propose to the city? And then how do you value the property based on the density etc? 

    I know my architect and civil eng will help on those deciding factors, but just wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts. I’m sure this has been discussed a million times in this forum. 

    Thx in advance. 


     Typically when it comes to housing you'll want to stick to 3-story garden style without elevators and 18-24 units per building. UNLESS you're trying to go the condo or townhouse route. 

    So on the 8 acres you'd ideally want a density of 20 units per acre. Then you'll have surface parking, landscape, etc. I'd probably try to suggest a combination of 5 acres with 20 units per acre and then suggest townhouses on the other 3 acres. Density TBD but probably closer to 8-10 per acre depending on what fits. That way you provide home ownership options along with rental options. 

    The city is going to have a master plan and various zoning regulations around density. I'd start by telling them you'd like to rezone to multi-family at 20 units per acres and see what planning says. 

    Then you work the land price backwards from what the city will allow. 

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