121.8 Acres in Lafayette, AL - $365,400

Ridge Grove

Introduction

Ridge Grove is a 121.8 deeded acre diverse tract holding immediate timber opportunity and management options in a wildlife rich part of Chambers County, Alabama.

Location

Ridge Grove is located within the rolling hills of the Piedmont Region of mid-east Alabama. The property is adjoined by rural residences and other timberland properties.

Ridge Grove is just 9 miles west of LaFayette, Alabama, which provides local amenities including gas, grocery, and dining options. Just 30 minutes away is Valley, Alabama that offers lodging, medical facilities, and access to Interstate 85. Both Auburn and Opelika, Alabama are also within easy driving distance offering even more amenities.

For the recreationist, the Tallapoosa River is less than 15 miles from Ridge Grove. Lake Martin is within a 30-minute drive. Both areas offer excellent outdoor activities including boating and fishing. Just a few minutes away from the property is LaFayettes city lake, which is approximately 75 acres and is open to public fishing.

Ridge Grove is a 10-minute drive from downtown LaFayette and a 30-minute drive from Interstate 85 from nearly any exit between Valley and Auburn Alabama. The property is one hour and a half from Atlantas Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Also, the property is just an hour away from Columbus, Georgia, and only two hours from Birmingham, Alabama.

Access

Ridge Grove offers great paved road frontage, an internal system of woods roads, and direct access to power.

The tract has an estimated 517 feet of paved frontage along Chambers County Road 48. There is one existing driveway to provide access to the tract. The terrain along the frontage is gentle and accommodating should other accesses were needed in the future.

The tract has approximately three-quarters of a mile of interior woods roads that provide access to the heart of the property. These are suitable for 2x4 vehicles with good ground clearance for most seasons but may require 4x4 during wet periods.

Site Description

Ridge Grove is an excellent timber resource that resides within a vibrant timber market and is very well suited for those with wildlife in mind.

The tract lays very well with gently rolling terrain and is certainly accommodating to timber operations. The elevation ranges from approximately 680 feet to 780 feet above sea level. The soils are well-drained and are well suited for continued timber production.

Ridge Grove offers the quiet and natural beauty of a rural setting with excellent potential for a homestead. The tract features an approximately two-acre pond that offers opportunities for fishing and canoeing. There are internal streams that have running water during most of the year during normal periods. The size of this tract offers the ability to take long nature hikes over the easy terrain.

For the outdoor enthusiast, this area offers excellent hunting opportunities. There is a very healthy deer herd with potential for turkey and smaller game. This tract is diverse, which is extremely beneficial for wildlife. There are mature hardwoods that produce acorns during the fall, pine thickets for cover, established food plots, and water sources.

Timber

Ridge Groves current timber stocking levels are loaded since there has been no timber cutting on this tract for years. This offers a very early cash flow opportunity for an investor immediately following acquisition if desired.

Merchantable timber data in this report is based on a timber inventory conducted in 2020 by F&W Forestry Services, Inc. Combined total commercial per acre volume is estimated to be 97 tons per merchantable timbered acre. Stumpage values were assigned by F&W Forestry Services, Inc. in February of 2020 producing a property wide merchantable timber value estimate of $210,000.

The tract has three basic management areas. The first and largest area consist of mature hardwood dominated acreage. These are most certainly more than 50 years of age. While this timber type adds to aesthetic and wildlife value it also presents an excellent timber sales opportunity. Hardwood markets within this region have fared rather well and if it is an owners objective to generate timber income, this area is more than ready for harvest.

The second area consists of 20 to 30-year-old naturally established pine dominated stands. Portions of this tract once existed as open pasture. As the years passed these were allowed to seed in with pine. These are currently merchantable and marketable if timber production is an objective these should be harvested in the near term.

The third area is a small stand of longleaf pine that exists right along the county road frontage. It is not quite ready for thinning but protects the roadside aesthetics of the entire tract. This area could be ready to thin in four or five years but may need to be done at the same time when other parts of the property are harvested due to economies of scale.

Within this market region if your objectives are financially driven, it is our recommendation to follow any final harvest with the planting of loblolly pine. Reforestation usually entails a herbicide treatment to reduce vegetative competition, a burn to reduce residual logging debris and then planting.

Once established, plantation management usually entails establishment, some periodic chemical treatments on an as needed basis to keep competing vegetation at bay, thinning at or around ages 15 and again at 21 to keep the timber growing and developing properly, and a final harvest between the ages of 25 to 32. While the primary purpose of the thinning is health, these are income-producing events. If wildlife and aesthetics are also objectives, prescribed burning becomes a valuable option starting after the first thinning is completed.