Related- Real estate...investment?

I browse and sometimes post on a message board for hot rodders (I will get into that another time) and came upon this: A defunct drag strip in Piney Woods Texas is going to auction. It's 93 acres, with the drag strip, and a few buildings. Apparently in the middle of nowhere; I didn't even check. The person asked about the possibility of message board members all chipping in and buying the property as a cooperative of sorts, with the drag strip jointly owned. Opening bid is $465,000.

Now I'm not going to get into the practical questions of land development, group investments, liability insurance, people to staff the strip, or eventual use restrictions, etc. I don't think this will get that far.

But I do know about the trend towards "special interest" communities. There are certain groups that buy or build houses and communities around a common, usually hobby, interest. For example, people that own small planes build houses next to a small airstrip. I have heard of horse people doing something similar. Awhile back I read about an auto road-racing deal being built where members had a plot, could build a house, and paid common charges for exclusive use of the race course and pit buildings. Oh yes, how could I forget; condos built right on golf course property!

So the precedent is there. Unbeknownst to K, I pledged $10k, or shares equalling 1/50th ownership. I figure we'd get about a solid acre, acre and a half. Build a small house, couple of garages. It's be nice and warm, no snow. Wouldn't really need the duallie or trailer, as I could just fire up, motor over to the strip, and make some runs.

This is probably not what my wife envisioned as a retirement investment property, although I'm sure the Gulf of Mexico couldn't be more than a few hundred miles away. See honey, I'm thinking of you.