Merced County - Advice on 40ac land - Los Banos San Luis Pacheco
Leander, TX · Member since 2015 · 23 posts · 6 votes
Hi BP,
I'm hoping to connect with realtors, development planners, solar farm experts, land developers, or just about anyone in the Merced County area. Maybe the SF San Francisco Bay Area folks can chime in.
The seller has 40 acres of land running parallel to highway 152 between highway 101 and highway 5. The land is off the Basalt Rd exit near the San Luis Reservoir. It is currently zoned for Agriculture. However, about 10 years ago there was a planned community development called The Villages of San Luis Laguna (very close by) that was approved by Merced County. Unfortunately, the timing was terrible (housing crash of 2008) and nothing came about from it.
The seller is open to selling or leasing the land, but I'm wondering if there is something bigger that can become of this, especially if a planned community was just around the corner.
There is opportunity here! I just don't have the experience or vision to see the big picture! HELP!
If you need help finding someone to lease it I can help.
If you need help finding someone to lease it I can help.
Hello Aldwin, thanks for posting. I know exactly where this is at, been driving past it my whole life. As far as RE is concerned I do not think there is a big picture for this area. It's right next to the dam and a lot of the land around there is BLM state park land. With 40 acres zoned ag, your best bet is to lease out for cattle ground. 40 acres is not a whole lot in those parts of the world for cows. May have to sign a long term lease especially if rancher has to put up new fence. Place must also have water for livestock otherwise it's typically a no go! I would give Shane a call and see what ideas he may have. I'm speaking from an ag background. Its sad to see that housing development just sit there unfinished. With housing the way it is you would think maybe it would restart but nothing. Keep us up to date!
@Kevin Moules That's some good knowledge right there. I PM'd @Shane Avila and he agrees with what you said about fencing and water. I'll have to dig up more info from the seller and neighboring owners. I'll keep this post updated!
Like Kevin I am also from around that area and have also driven by that property on numerous occasions. I would try some research , maybe try to find a contact for the other developers that had in mind to do something in that neck of the woods and see if you can't get some insight about getting utilities there for a major development like water, gas, electricity and sewer. Typically those things take a long , long time to negotiate and arrange to be put in place but if it has been planned before then at least you might get access to some knowledge and cost information. If you can do that then perhaps you can find gounds to justify what you may be thinking in order to know if it is worth pursuing. However, I would warn that this type of project is not for beginners. If it has been more than two years and I believe it has you might have to start from scratch with all of the required engineering, soils analysis, foundations designs etc, . etc.
Big money is always looking for a good deal to back but what big money does not like to do is all of the required leg work and back and forth negotiations that typically goes on with local municipalities that will approve or disapprove such a proposal, its been done once and I know municiplaities do not like to be disappointed once they have already approved a project to go. You just may find some friends or make some friends with your thinking and planning.
Its a big stretch between I-5 and 101 so a development right about half way would be welcomed and I am sure you will find a big demand and plenty of patronage for such a project. That is about a one hour stretch of winding road, boring as hell right now.
I happen to know many people from Merced and as far away as Fresno that make a daily communte to their jobs in the Bay Area and they sure would welcome a development right about where you have in mind. Can't tell you just how many people travel that road both going south and north to the Bay Area. It is a common route for those traveling as far south as San Diego and even across the border into Mexico, certainly to LA.
Sometime ago I heard someone had some plans to cut a shorter route between I-5 and 101 across the hills and if that should happen then that whole area around where you are looking would be up for development. The story I am referring to even made the local papers, but now you may find the story on the internet. Like I said, it may pay to do some research. Talk to all of the possibly interested municipalities but especially the one that you can identify as having jurisdiction on that particular parcel of land. What may seem like out of sight , out of mind to you and me, might just be quite on the minds of local development officials.
I wanted to add that if you think cattle grazing would be a good business on those 40 acres I would not agree with you as it typically takes about one acre per head to have enough grazing land and so the most you could have is 40 head worth between $700.00 and $800.00 per head if the Monteray animal auction is anything to go by. So when you think all the wherewithal you would have to have, the cost of the land, cost per head to raise cattle, transport etc. The most money you might earn is let us say $700.00 x 40 = $28,000.00 and not that the business would ever be that consistent. Most people in the area raise cattle as a hobby to earn a few extra thousand dollars per year, but not much else.
No, to me eventually all of that land and the land in the surrounding area is destined for development. It's just a matter of when , but also no time soon, I believe. I do know that the idea of develpment for all of the area in question has been floating around for years and years and there have even been some offical announcements made about it but still no sign or much movement on it. Might just be that the community is waiting for someone just like to you to spark interest and do something to get the ball rolling. I would not worry about support as I am sure a lot of people would like nothing better than to see that area brought to life. I mean I have been traveling through that area since 1959 and is has always been in the exact same condition it is in today but the surrounding areas especially around San Jose and Gilroy have exploded in growth, and you can even see some development already pushing against the foot hills.
I think the question is who is going to be the first one to take that great leap of faith and make a commitment to start developing what everybody else wants already and have for many years now.
@Gilbert Dominguez isnt the high speed rail being built to cut down on the commute from Merced to the bay area?
I honestly do not know about the High Speed rail. It has been 3 years since I moved out of the area but you being in Merced would know more about that than I would. I would think that if there is a High Speed Rail system set up between Merced and the Bay Area that would be good for Merced real estate prices and maybe even have a positive affect on the real estate market all the way to Fresno. I do know there is an Air Force base located in Atwater which is just adjacent to Merced and having a High Speed Rail System available to get to work would provide military personnel a lot more of a choice on housing locations. Sounds good to me. Might even be a good reason for me to head on down to Merced and buy some property.