Thomas Open Space Farm Project

Overview

Originated by a resident-led, grassroots effort, the vision for Thomas Open Space continues to blossom as the historically farmed land is in use today for crop production and as the home site of Thomas Open Space Barn. The unique relationship between a municipality and a local farming operation demonstrates Lafayette’s commitment to providing diverse experiences for residents while preserving our small-town atmosphere. In the case of Thomas Open Space, the City of Lafayette has partnered with Red Wagon Farm, which operates the on-site barn as their farm stand for locally grown crops.

Location and Details

Thomas Open Space Farm is located at 1640 West Baseline Road, west of Highway 287 on Baseline Road, south of the Anna’s Farm subdivision. As of March 2022, the barn and land are leased by Red Wagon Farm. 

Red Wagon Farm Store Hours 

  • Saturday-Sunday 10am-6pm 
  • CLOSED after Nov 20 for the winter season

Red Wagon Farm provides a wonderful variety of produce, an amazing summer and winter Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) farm share program, and over 20 years of farming experience. Wyatt and Amy bring a lot to the table when it comes to regenerative, chemical-free farming, and they are a recipient of multiple "Conservationist of the Year" awards. The farm store is open seasonally on Saturdays and Sundays until Nov 20, when the store closes for the season. Visit their website for further information about you-pick events or hour changes. 

Background

Produce Opens in new windowIn February 2022, City Council approved a new three-year lease, welcoming Red Wagon Farm as the new tenant to manage and operate the Thomas Open Space property.

The City purchased the Thomas Open Space property in 2002 as buffer land near Waneka Lake. After purchasing the land, residents supported the property to be leased for agricultural purposes, and tenants were onboarded to farm organic produce. In 2012, the Thomas Barn was constructed, providing a permanent farm stand to process and sell produce. Isabelle Farms was a long-standing tenant for 13 years and parted ways with Thomas Open Space at the end of 2021. A request for proposal process began to find a new tenant to farm Thomas Open Space. After a thorough proposal process and careful consideration, Red Wagon Farm was selected as the new lessee. 

Learn more about Red Wagon Farm