Just in time for the holidays comes the opportunity to own a slice of Christmas tradition in the St. Louis region, with the Meert Tree Farm in Festus up for sale.
The listing from Coldwell Banker calls the 150-acre property “a cherished landmark” with “immense potential for expansion, land development, or complementary enterprises.” The real estate is priced at $2.2 million, with another $750,000 for the business, including its existing inventory.
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“It’s just a very unique piece of property and the fact that it’s family-owned and it’s been in the family for generations, it’s just special,” says Kris Barr, the listing agent with Coldwell Banker Realty Gundaker.
Go Deeper: Meert Tree Farm was founded in Oakville in 1963 by Domien Meert and his father, expanding to the current location in Festus in 1980 and fully consolidating there in 2004 following the closure of the Oakville farm, says Anna Mueller, the oldest of Meert’s six children and a co-trustee of the estate.
“My sister and I were up at Oakville, and then we got to come down here, and it was a chance for family to be together,” she says. “And that was something my parents absolutely loved.”
Mueller adds it’s about more than just her direct family; the farm has been a staple for families across the region looking for the perfect Christmas tree for generations.
She says the farm’s offerings have expanded, including wreath decorating classes now ramping up for the holiday season, as well as programming throughout the year: a sunflower maze in August, the opportunity to “pick-your-own pumpkin” leading up to Halloween, and a fall festival typically the first weekend in October.
“We have over 80 vendors who come year after year,” Mueller says. “It’s a big deal.”
Those increased opportunities to draw visitors in all seasons means abundant opportunity for the next owner, says Barr. She’s already fielded a few inquiries from people considering making it a wedding venue.
“It could be some kind of a nursery, a landscaping business,” she says. “Someone could turn it into a winery. It’s got great views. There is water on the property, which is always a bonus.”
It also comes with three different homes that could be rented out like a bed-and-breakfast, and has the ability to support livestock, Barr says. The Meert family had had chickens and pigs on it before, she adds.
What’s Next: Even with that expansive list of what the property could become, Mueller says they’d like the next owner to continue what’s already been there.
“Our goal is to find, hopefully, another family that wants to run a Christmas tree farm,” she says, adding that visitors share how much they love the current farm after seeing the for-sale sign out front: “We hate for this to go. We love this place.”
Barr adds it’s one of the few Christmas tree farms in Missouri, making it particularly well-known among locals: “We’re hoping that someone else will take it over and continue on and even make it bigger and better.”
