$5M Stonington Farm for Sale With Equestrian, Wedding Businesses

A nearly 78-acre commercial agricultural and hospitality estate in southeastern Connecticut has entered the market at $5 million, bundling active equestrian, event, short-term rental and recreational operations into a single real estate transaction.

Deans Mill Farm at 1189 Pequot Trail in Stonington is being sold by owners Deborah and Robert Valenti after roughly a decade of redevelopment. The listing, handled by Linda O’Hara and Brittany O’Hara of William Raveis Real Estate, includes all physical infrastructure as well as the operating businesses on the site, positioning the acquisition as a turnkey investment rather than a raw land play.

The property’s revenue potential spans four distinct sectors. The Dragonfly Equestrian Center operates 18 stalls with capacity for up to 20 boarded horses, supported by indoor and outdoor riding rings, a round pen, wash stalls and a dedicated trainer’s apartment featuring a private deck. Horse boarding in southern New England typically commands premium rates due to strict local zoning that limits new agricultural construction, making existing permitted facilities scarce.

Hospitality operations generate income through two separate structures. A restored 4,161-square-foot farmhouse built around 1750 functions as a five-room bed-and-breakfast capable of serving as a bridal suite. The nine-room residence contains five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and two half bathrooms. A secondary 1,170-square-foot Cape Cod-style house with four bedrooms and two full bathrooms operates independently as an Airbnb rental. Short-term rentals in coastal Connecticut towns like Stonington frequently see peak demand during summer months and autumn foliage seasons.

Event hosting forms another pillar of the estate’s business model. Local permits allow up to 12 weddings annually with a maximum of 250 guests. The main farmhouse accommodates indoor gatherings of 50 people, while larger functions utilize outdoor tented configurations. Wedding venues in New England face tightening municipal regulations regarding noise, traffic and temporary structures, meaning properties with established special event permits carry significant transferable value for buyers.

Recreational use extends to Dragonfly Disc Golf, a 19-hole course routed through former livestock pastures and historic stone walls around the equestrian center. Professional disc golf courses require substantial acreage and specific topography to meet safety and design standards set by the Professional Disc Golf Association, limiting where new 19-hole layouts can be constructed.

A beer garden occupies the footprint of a barn destroyed by fire in the 1990s. Deborah Valenti said the space was developed using a small grant obtained during the pandemic. The bar itself was milled from a 200-year-old oak tree uprooted by a microburst on the family’s separate Palmer Neck Road property.

“When we bought it, it was completely overgrown and basically abandoned,” Valenti said of the initial purchase. “We did most of the work ourselves… So what we invested was a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

Stonington sits along Long Island Sound near the Rhode Island border and maintains some of the strictest land-use controls in New London County. Assembling a contiguous parcel approaching 80 acres with mixed-use commercial approvals would likely take years under current zoning frameworks, which heavily favor residential preservation and restrict commercial density outside designated village centers.

The asking price reflects both the acreage and the embedded business infrastructure. According to Redfin data for the 06378 ZIP code covering the immediate area, the median sale price stood at approximately $1.2 million over the three months ending August 2026. Standard homes in that corridor typically sell for about 4% below list price and go pending in 52 days, while highly competitive listings move near asking price within 16 days. Commercial estates of this scale rarely trade on standard residential metrics, as appraisals must account for income capitalization across multiple business lines.

Valenti said the decision to sell stems from aging and a desire to spend more time with grandchildren. She expressed hope that a buyer will expand the operational scope.

“We believe that we’ve taken the property to just about as far as we can personally,” Valenti said. “Somebody with more talent than we have can take it to the next level.”

William Raveis Real Estate agents Linda O’Hara and Brittany O’Hara are fielding inquiries at 860-209-7044.