Buying Industrial or Agricultural Land Near Highway 401 in London, Ontario

Most real estate content assumes you're looking for a house. But a real, recurring slice of London's real estate market isn't residential at all — it's the farmland-and-industrial corridor that runs along Highway 401 through southeast London, in areas like Highbury and Old Victoria. If you're an investor, a business owner looking for warehouse or logistics space, or someone weighing a piece of agricultural land, here's what actually matters.

What This Land Actually Looks Like

Highbury is the clearest example: bounded by Bradley Avenue, Cheese Factory Road, Wilton Grove Road, and Highbury Road South, with Highway 401 running directly through it. It's made up of farms and industrial buildings rather than residential streets — the Flying J Travel Centre and a FedEx Ground Terminal are among the notable operations already established there. It functions more as a planning district than a neighbourhood in the traditional sense.

Nearby Old Victoria is a different case — mostly residential, mostly newer-built (around 60% of its homes went up after 2000), but it shares the same southeast-London logistics corridor and is home to established manufacturers including Dr. Oetker's pizza factory and Western University's WindEEE Research Institute.

Why Highway 401 Access Matters Here

Proximity to Highway 401 is the whole story for this corridor. For a logistics or distribution business, direct highway access is often the single biggest factor in site selection — it's why FedEx and Flying J are already there. For a residential buyer, the same highway proximity that makes the land valuable for industrial use is generally a reason to look elsewhere; this isn't quiet, walkable real estate, and it isn't trying to be.

Who This Actually Suits

• Investors and business owners looking for industrial, warehouse, or logistics space with direct 401 access.
• Buyers considering agricultural land — some of this corridor is still active farmland, which comes with its own zoning and land-use considerations worth confirming before you make an offer.
• Not a typical homebuyer looking for a quiet residential street — for that, London has dozens of better-suited neighbourhoods (see our full neighbourhood guide).

What to Check Before Making an Offer

Zoning is the first thing to confirm — industrial, agricultural, and any mixed designations all carry different restrictions on what can actually be built or operated on a given parcel, and this can vary block to block along a corridor like this one. The City of London's planning department is the authoritative source for current zoning on any specific parcel, not a listing description. If you're buying with a specific use in mind (a distribution facility, a specific type of agricultural operation), confirm the zoning supports that use before you're firm on an offer, not after.

Considering a property in this corridor, or just want a second opinion on whether it fits what you're trying to do? Reach out to Justin — he can walk through it with you directly.