Good Dirt

Today, the Aquidneck Land Trust, the Kempenaar family and the Town of Middletown successfully conserved approximately 30 acres of the Boulevard Nurseries property on East Main Road in Middletown.  This was achieved despite competition for the property from various developers, including one of America’s largest home building companies.

The Boulevard Nurseries property, which is owned by the Kempenaar family, is extremely important because of its strategic location.  It is one of the few remaining scenic open space properties on East Main Road, one of the two most heavily traveled public thoroughfares on Aquidneck Island.  The parcel is also next to two other properties that the Aquidneck Land Trust and the Town of Middletown have conserved for public use: the 33.25-acre Tibbetts property and the 8.65-acre Albro Woods Preserve.  Together, the Boulevard Nurseries property, the Tibbetts property and the Albro Woods Preserve, which total over 70 acres, form a stunning and scenic gateway to Middletown that can eventually serve as the major open space and public recreation complex that the Land Trust and the Town have envisioned.

Engineers’ plans demonstrated that the Boulevard Nurseries property could have been developed into about 35 house lots which would have destroyed the scenic charm of the area.  It would also have burdened the Town’s tax base due to an increase in needed municipal services to support such a development and adding over 300 vehicle trips per day to the already busy and dangerous East Main Road.

On June 13, 2008, the parties signed a Purchase and Sale Contract for the property and today the parties completed the conveyances called for under that agreement.  The Aquidneck Land Trust purchased a perpetual Conservation Easement for $500,000 on about 30 acres of the 34.26-acre Boulevard Nurseries property and immediately thereafter the Town of Middletown acquired ownership of the 30 +/- acres for $1.5 million.  The Kempenaars retained an approximate 2.8-acre lot around the existing garden center on the property and another 2-acre lot around an old house and various agricultural outbuildings on the southern boundary of the parcel.  That will enable the family to continue farming in the area.  The Town had money available for this project as a result of the foresight demonstrated by Middletown voters when they approved past open space bond referendums.   

Paul Rodrigues, Middletown Town Council President, stated, “Great partnerships enable great things to happen and that is what the closing on this important conservation project reminds us of.  This project also reminds us of the importance of Middletown’s $2 million open space bond referendum in November.  If approved, we will increase our chances of protecting the beauty, economic well-being, environmental sustainability and quality of life of our beloved Town.”

"Preserving open space provides the Town with a great opportunity to create an attractive and usable space for agricultural and recreational activities.  It also allows the community to enjoy the natural beauty of the farmlands, reinforcing their appreciation of Middletown as a desirable place to live.  The Kempenaar’s decision to work with the Town of Middletown and Aquidneck Land Trust to preserve the Boulevard Nurseries property is a remarkable gift to current and future generations," said Shawn Brown, Middletown Town Administrator.

 Ted Clement, Aquidneck Land Trust’s Executive Director, stated, “We applaud the partnership, between ALT, the Kempenaars and the Town, that made this project possible.  This November we hope that Middletown voters will approve the Town’s $2 million open space bond referendum so that more lasting green gifts like the Boulevard Nurseries land can be delivered to the community.  Today’s closing is also special because with it the 2,000 conserved acre mark was reached and surpassed by ALT.”

 “After looking at all the options, this was the best for Boulevard Nurseries and at the same time preserving open space here in Middletown. I know personally I would rather see the property remain as open space than as yet more houses,” said John Kempenaar. 

Regarding today’s closing, Angela Kempenaar noted," Through generations the Kempenaar family has always been adamant about preserving open space, and today's closing was a 'win win' for both us and the Town of Middletown."   

ALT's mission is to preserve Aquidneck Island's open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of our community.  With today's closing, the organization has conserved 2,012.72 acres on Aquidneck Island.  ALT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  For more information about ALT, visit www.AquidneckLandTrust.org.

As always, thank you for your continued support
for conservation on our Island.

This email update has been sent to the entire Aquidneck Land Trust email list. Please let us know if you do not wish to receive these email updates by replying to this message. If you have any questions or comments, please call 401-849-2799 x18 or jpohl@ailt.org.