Bill Jackson remembers riding his bike in the early 1960s on the road adjacent to his family's farm in Lakeville that was about to become I-35. Come the end of July, he'll head south on 35, saying goodbye to the only home he's ever had.

The farm became Jackson Landscaping Supply Inc. in 1975, after Jackson purchased the 25.13 acres from his parents. He's lived and worked there ever since. But on June 18, Jackson and his wife, Tina, will begin a new stage of their lives when the property is sold at auction.

The Jacksons will resettle on a 120-acre farm in West Concord, Minn., a move a long time in the making that comes to fruition now due in part to the slow economy.

Jackson said he has worked his way through the emotional impact of the change. "Making the decision was the emotional part,'' he said. "You think about how you are moving your whole life. Once you get past that it's about getting down to business and getting it done.''

William Jackson, Bill's dad, bought the property about 1954. William had grown up on a farm close to where the Chart House restaurant now stands. After buying his own property, he was in the business of buying and selling dairy cattle.

"It was all hay fields and farm fields,'' Jackson said of the area. "As kids we used to ride horses and go pretty much wherever you wanted to go.''

Jackson's older brother Randy served in Vietnam, only to die in a car accident three months after returning home. He later lost a sister, Linda, to cancer, and has another sister, Patty. William Jackson died in 1992, while his wife, Gladys, remains a Lakeville resident. Bill and Tina's two kids, Nicole (23) and Travis (19), also grew up on the property.

Jackson, who started his first business when he was still in high school, said the building boom that began in the south metro area in the 1970s was behind his decision to start the landscaping business.

Jackson's uncle, John Jackson, had a landscape business in Lakeville on the site where the Porter House restaurant now sits. His farm was hit hard by a tornado, which led Jackson to purchase much of the remaining equipment.

The business continues to provide a good living, Jackson said, but the time is right to move on. The property and heavy equipment will be auctioned with no minimum bid. Jackson is confident he'll get a fair price because of the prime location, at the intersection of County Road 46 and I-35.

"It'll bring a different type of buyer to the table,'' Jackson said. "It brings development people, a more diverse group of potential buyers.''

While he didn't want to speculate on how much the land is worth, he said prime real estate in the metro area typically sells for $10-$15 a square foot.

Jackson said he has no problem with the way Lakeville has changed through the years. "They're trying to make it a gateway to Minneapolis,'' he said. "I think they've done a good job of developing Lakeville.

"I like Lakeville. It's been good to us. We figure the next two areas for development are here and along Highway 70. We figured we'd get out of the way and let it happen.''

Four buildings, including the updated farm house, remain on the property from Jackson's childhood. Should the time come when the buildings are torn down, he said, the emotions likely will return.

"That part might get to me a little bit,'' Jackson said, "because I spent my whole life here. It won't bother me much until I see that day.''

Dean Spiros • 952-882-9203