By
Althea Chang, CNNMoney.com contributing writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Music history lovers and casino developers alike are taking notice: part of dairy farmer Max Yasgur's land, part of which was the original site of the 1969 Woodstock music festival, is up for sale.
The 103-acre parcel, which lies two miles from the 40 acres devoted to the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in August 1969, has significant commercial potential, according to Brett Joshpe of Joshpe Real Estate, a New York City company exclusively listing the property with an $8 million price tag.
Located two hours from New York City in Bethel, N.Y., the property owned by Yasgur, who died in 1973, was originally 1,100 acres, but was broken up over the years.
Joshpe has been gauging interest from commercial developers focused on hotel franchises who understand the property's place in music history, and rumors have long been milling around casino developers moving in on the area, Joshpe said.
"These people have largely been interested from a commercial perspective, with knowledge of the historical perspective," Joshpe said.
The Yasgur farm was celebrated in Joni Mitchell's song, "Woodstock," popularized on Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's Deja vu album, with the lyrics: "I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm. I'm going to join in a rock n' roll band."
After the town of Woodstock in Ulster County refused to host the event, Yasgur devoted 40 acres of his alfalfa farmland to the festival, which along with neighboring property were nearly destroyed that weekend.
Now the site is home to the $70 million Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a concert venue that's promoted business for hotels and restaurants in the area and has significantly raised property there, Joshpe said.
The center, which opened just last June, has featured top rock, pop, jazz, and classical performances from the likes of Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck, and The New York Philharmonic, and according to Ellyn Solis, spokeswoman for the center, fans of the original music festival hold an informal, Woodstock reunion at the site each year.
Many restaurants and hotels in Bethel and surrounding Sullivan County areas are still locally run. According to Joshpe, the current owners of the property for sale, Roy Howard and Jeryl Abramson, ran a local business before buying the homestead in 1985.
Howard and Abramson have been using the homestead as a summer house since buying their primary residence in Arizona.
The more than 103-acre property for sale includes a 2,000 square foot residence circa 1940, a 5,000 square foot farmhouse built in 1876 and a 7,000 square foot calving barn, according to the press release from Joshpe.
Joshpe said recent renovations include a cedar-ceiling loft with western exposure, a master bathroom with a double whirlpool tub and a gourmet kitchen with 22-foot vaulted ceilings and a view of the Pocono Mountains. 
