Good Dirt

Today, the Aquidneck Land Trust, the Kempenaar family and the Town of Middletown successfully signed a Purchase and Sale Contract to conserve approximately 31 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 which has developed 500,000 new homes with operations in 26 states.

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 so called 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 a major open space and 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 while also burdening the Town’s tax base, due to an increase in needed municipal services for the development, and adding over 300 vehicle trips per day to the already busy and dangerous East Main Road.

(Engineers' conceptual subdivision plan demonstrating that the Boulevard Nurseries Property could support 35 houselots if not conserved)

Under the terms of the agreement, the Aquidneck Land Trust will purchase a perpetual Conservation Easement for $500,000 on about 31 acres of the 35.8-acre Boulevard Nurseries property and will immediately start a fundraising campaign to support this effort.  Thereafter, the Town of Middletown will acquire the 31 acres for $1.5 million while the Kempenaars will retain 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 outbuildings on the southern boundary of the parcel.  The Town has 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, “The Town is very pleased to partner with the Aquidneck Land Trust and the Kempenaar family on this open space conservation project because it will pay lasting dividends to Middletown residents and all of Aquidneck Island for generations to come.  We have to be willing to stand up for that which we cherish and which makes our community unique and worth living in, and that is what we have done today.”

Regarding the project, Shawn Brown, Middletown Town Administrator, said, “The purchase of the Boulevard Nurseries property serves the dual purpose of preserving another piece of Middletown’s agricultural heritage, while also maintaining the aesthetic quality of the vista along East Main Road. Future generations will benefit from the preservation of the property for farming, watershed and wildlife protections and recreational opportunities. The Kempenaar family has again showed their commitment to the community by giving us this opportunity.”

“We must applaud the leadership and vision demonstrated by the Middletown Town Council.  The Land Trust brought this project to the Town in February and asked for their support and assistance.  The Town quickly and unanimously got behind it.  The Town Administrator and Chair of the Middletown Open Space and Fields Committee also deserve our thanks.  Further, the Kempenaar family has done a truly wonderful thing for the Island by electing the more sustainable conservation option over the more lucrative development option.  The Land Trust and Middletown have established a terrific working relationship and we hope to be able to deliver many more meaningful conservation projects to the community in the near future.” said Ted Clement, Executive Director for the Aquidneck Land Trust.

“Our family has a long-standing and deep connection with this property, agriculture, Middletown and Aquidneck Island for that matter.  There were other interested parties such as various developers, but we are so pleased that the Land Trust helped us pull it all together in a creative way that we felt was right and that the Town had the vision to support the plan.” said John Kempenaar.

“Ultimately, the Conservation Easement allowed us the ability to protect the use of property for generations to come in a manner consistent with our families’ beliefs.  This was a deciding factor in our decision to enter into this transaction with the Town and the Land Trust.” said Angela Kempenaar.  
    

ALT’s mission is to preserve Aquidneck Island’s open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of our community.  The organization has conserved 1,971.67 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.