People are obsessed with the idea of the past.
Like, buying "downtown" property before the downtown became popular.

Buying in Beverly Hills before it becomes the haven for the wealthy.

This has come about several times, and the stories are all over the place.

However, all these speculators are doing is driving up the price of land without adding anything to the land. And, in so doing, usually stop it from becoming what it could. Sad that these "investors" usually gum up the works of that property becoming what it could have.