Food amenities such as edible landscaping, farm-to-table restaurants, and on-site organic farms are becoming commonplace among residential developments that people are willing to pay a premium for. In today’s world, where food regularly travels thousands of miles from where it is grown or produced to where it is actually consumed and massive recalls happen regularly, people are more than a little interested in knowing exactly where the food they are eating comes from.
As Urban Land magazine reports, it has long been known the communities that had plenty of open space would earn higher real estate prices. Golf courses used to be the way to achieve this open space while also providing a specific function. But golf courses are expensive, and the majority of the people in the communities wouldn’t even utilize them for anything more than their open views. Not only can everyone gain something from farmland or a community garden, but, while golf courses cost millions to build and maintain, land reserved for farms or gardens usually doesn’t cost more than traditional landscaping.
Integrating food into a development goes beyond just having community farms or gardens. Food halls, farmers markets, and farm-to-table restaurants are all ways to use food as an amenity that adds to the value of an areas real estate.
