Hello group. We just purchased a 10 acre mixed property with a large barn in Canada in the middle of a big city. What are ways we can make money from this? Open to all ideas on how we can capitalize. The barn has stables as old owner used to have horses 10 years ago.
by Great-Reindeer-7824
36 Comments
Horses are a money sink. 10 acres is a bit small, but perhaps a u-pick or such?
Hold it for years and keep it nice. That’s the best ROI for acreage within a big city
Any bodies of water? Set up some Hipcamp spots?
Flower farm. Turn the barn into a wedding venue. All the flowers used in the wedding come from the farm.
If you’re really in the middle of a city, depending on your zoning / bylaws, host live bands and get a liquor license to serve beer and wine.
Farm near me does this every Friday through the summer and fall and it’s hugely popular. They probably have closer to 30 acres dedicated to it but have a ton of built-in activities for kids of all ages. Great spot for families.
Storage is an easy one.
Haunted house/hayrides? Wedding venue? Stage a runaway golfcart marathon?
A lot depends on the climate, city, and especially the property itself, but theres options. Congrats on the property!
Event rentals is probably your best bet depending on your infrastructure and zoning.
City people crave natural experiences in nature. Turn your barn into a rustic wedding venue/event hall and rent it out. A brewery/winery would be a great option too but would obviously take a lot more work.
There’s a couple of farms near me that did this, DM me and I will send you their links.
You should do something that attracts wildlife like build a pond to watch all the birds and other creatures drink from it and document it on YouTube to get viewers. Something like this guys does. This content is so good and much needed.
[the wildlife homestead](https://youtu.be/5uh_vVJ7Q0Y?si=-9oR3C2MfXOZ7Vdm)
Nature education and experiences for kiddos (insurance and regulation permitting)
I have 10 acres just outside philly. We’ve been here 10 years and just starting to figure things out. So far, the best investments have been sunflowers, pasture raised eggs, and a belshaw donut machine. We’re on pace for 20k this year, open one day a week right now. Expanding into full time territory soon. @Timberlinefarms on ig if you want to follow along the journey.
If you were able to buy 10 acres “in the middle of a big city” with no plans as to what to do with it, do you really even need to make money off of it? Just enjoy the relative peace and do what makes you happy.
Older buildings usually have 3 phase power. Might consider renting it out to a Fine Woodworker or carpenter. A number of their machines/equipment run on 3 phase power and they would better utilize the space..
bee hives, in NYS, i believe all you need is one bee hive on your property and all of your residential taxes are considered farm and then you have honey all year!
Find local farmers outside of the city and have a farmers market on weekends. Also grow heirloom, organic produce to sell at your own farm stand. There are endless opportunities.
Wow, that’s a goldmine. You could turn it into a really treasured community space.
Grow pumpkins for u-pick, u-pick fruits and vegetables, do events like weddings. Haunted house. Petting zoo for kids.
Apple orchard. Just have it open for hayrides in the fall and maybe sleigh rides in the winter.
I have dreamt on a similar situation.
Mine includes hogs, an orchard, and cider production with a small restraunt.
I think the wedding venue and outdoor concert venue combo is the winner.
Idk what your capital looks like to build this but you can start small. Host bands for a fee and offer it as byob. Relatively low input to make some scratch to re invest in yourself. Same with the rustic wedding or event venue.
Build up your infrastructure. Small out door stage with power. Rent port-o-jons to start but eventually build bathrooms. A cement pad with a roof for picnic table or for bands to play if it rains. Renovate the barn or put up a new one. A small prep kitchen or staging area you can get certified, caterers will use it or you could sling bbq or something.
In the long run a liquor license and full bar will provide a lot of money. Slinging beers for shows, cash bar for events and even selling liquor packages to weddings.
I’m also also Canadian. I’m not in a big city. We own rental properties.
Before you do anything, I suggest you talk to an accountant to get a feel for tax implications of any plans. Of particular note: how Cap Gains will affect you when you sell. Farm property is taxed differently than residential, and Cap Gains can eat up your whole profits.
You may find that your best bet is simply hay and renting out the barn as storage. Once the “Farm Income” eclipses your day job a whole different tax regime kicks in.
Host 4H animals for kids who want to raise animals for 4H competitions.
Petting zoo and “pick your own” strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, etc. In the fall, have a pumpkin patch and sell cider, jams etc. There’s a local place near me that does this and they do well. Yours would have to be a smaller scale, of course. But you’ve already got the barn for some goats, chickens and rabbits.
Buy small modular homes, and place them around the most scenic parts of your property. Rent them out as individual air b and bs.
What kind of big city? Toronto or Montreal are the only big cities in Canada. Is it one of them?
Sheep are a pretty low maintenance livestock that can be fun to raise, they are gentle and don’t tear up fences and keep the grass looking good. You already have a barn to raise lambs in, that’s the expensive part. Cattle is another option.
Look up sniffspot – basically city slickers pay big bucks for space for their dogs to run around.
Setup a wedding/event venue
Ideal sitch actually.
You have clientele.
Sell it lol
A bee business (honey is trendy right now).
Rent out the barn and acreage for “rustic weddings” which are also big right now.
The truth is making money using land is always going to involve A LOT of work and *a decent amount of money in initial investment* to get set up, no matter what path you take.
Illegally, meth. Legally, likely some kind of cash crop you can go grow year round if insulated and lighted properly. I know mint can be profitable. Mushrooms for local resturants, that sort of thing. Look into what the locals need.
First, cool. I’d visit.
Second, I’m from the States but did get married in Canada and held the reception there and work with an Ontario law firm so I am vaguely familiar with some of the liquor/event laws that exist up there and not down here that might make the very cool venue ideas unprofitable. I’m sure you are more than aware and I raise just to get the ideas kicked around. I’m all in for a wine/band venue…call VQA get the lay of land as to insurance/liability/licensing
Third, I’m not sure what “big city” we are talking about…but, stables? Riding school. A series of kind of “farm in city” programs that overworked parents love to dump kids at? Soccer camp. Archery camp. Pottery center. Obviously a seasonal set of events – maze in fall, snow shoes/hockey camp, spring programs… teachers love field trips.
Petting zoo
Build a large gated warehouse, or barn.
Advertise RV parking.
Bonus, when people abandon their RVs, you can put a lien on them for non payment and eventually resell them.
Pizza farm!
Build a nice big wood fired pizza oven. Plant a veggie garden to grow toppings and tomatoes for sauce. Pick a day of the week where people can come to the farm with their own drinks and picnic blankets and have a really nice time.
These have been around Minnesota and Wisconsin for years and make for a really nice evening.
All of the ideas below are good but there’s one thing I haven’t seen mentioned: check your local zoning bylaws. Depending on the property zoning you may have limitations on what kind of business you can run.
Build some cabins & tiny homes & airbnb them