Land Bank Buys Last Undeveloped Piece at Red Gate Farm for $10 Million
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank has purchased 32 acres at Red Gate Farm in Aquinnah from the family of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg for $10 million, adding significantly to a joint purchase last year of 304 ecologically rare acres.
The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank announced Wednesday that it had purchased 32 acres at Red Gate Farm in Aquinnah from the family of Caroline Kennedy and Edwin Schlossberg for $10 million — adding significantly to the joint purchase last year of 304 ecologically rare acres at what is now being called Squibnocket Pond Reservation. That $27 million purchase was done in partnership with the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation and completed in December 2020, marking the largest conservation purchase in recent memory.
The additional undeveloped 32 acres purchased this week includes 1,000 feet of frontage on Squibnocket Pond and an old hunting camp.
All told, the land bank and Sheriff’s Meadow will now own 336 acres of rare, windswept Atlantic-facing coastal dunes, wetlands, hillocks and salt-blasted heathlands between Moshup Trail and Squibnocket Pond. The Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program has described the property as one of the most important tracts of land in the commonwealth.
“It was all part of the same planning process,” land bank executive director James Lengyel explained, speaking to the Gazette by phone Wednesday about the purchase. He said when the purchase and sale agreement between Sheriff’s Meadow, the land bank and the Kennedy family was signed last September, it included a right of first offer for the remaining 32 acres — sometimes known as lot three. Negotiations between the land bank and the Kennedy-Schlossberg family have been under way since then, in a highly competitive real estate market, Mr. Lengyel said.
“There were competitors, and we were glad that we were able to come to terms with the family,” he said.
While property had been on the market, the Kennedy-Schlossberg family had long expressed a desire to keep it undeveloped.
The land bank will pay the family $3 million in cash, and has signed a promissory note to pay $1 million per year for seven years, Mr. Lengyel said, describing the terms.
The Kennedy-Schlossberg family will retain ownership of 60.3 acres which includes their family home and other buildings.
In a brief announcement about the purchase Wednesday, the land bank said the new property will be integrated into the larger Squibnocket Pond Reservation, whose draft management plan is under way. The property includes two distinct parts: a northern and southern lobe. Plans call for opening the reservation to the public by next summer. Mr. Lengyel said there remains a gauntlet of approvals and permits to clear, including with the commonwealth and the town.
Red Gate Farm formerly served as a private retreat for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis until her death in 1994, and had remained family-held until the conservation sale last year to Sheriff’s Meadow and the land bank. The sale also marked the first partnership between the land bank, the Island’s only public conservation organization, and Sheriff’s Meadow, one of the oldest Vineyard land trusts. The land bank contributed $15 million, while Sheriff’s Meadow contributed $12 million to the first purchase. The new purchase this week only involved the land bank.
Mr. Lengyel remarked on the significance of the purchase, placing it in the context of the rapid change and growth that the Vineyard is experiencing.
“The word I like to use to describe what is happening on the Vineyard right now is intensify,” he said. “But this is a place that will remain quiet forever.”
Comments
It's great that they're
Chris Mara EdgartownIt's great that they're preserving this land but $37 million spent to preserve land but how much for affordable housing?
The Land Bank and Sheriff's
Dan Larkosh West TisburyThe Land Bank and Sheriff's Meadow Foundation are conservation organizations. That's their mission. Are you suggesting that the best use for these environmentally sensitive tracts is for the development of affordable housing? Thank God we have the LB and SMF to protect these areas from development.
I agree with Dan we can’t be
Gail EdgartownI agree with Dan we can’t be always be focused on affordable housing…we need open space.
Right on Dan!!! We need more
Thomas West TisburyRight on Dan!!! We need more open space. Less building and affordable housing….Thank God for the Land bank and the other groups that work so hard to keep our Island so beautiful!
I also agree with Dan, We
Jim EdgartownI also agree with Dan, We need more open space and less housing and affordable housing. Lets put a cap on building permits...
I agree with Dan. Let's not
Mark Acker TisburyI agree with Dan. Let's not encourage anymore housing. Over population rich or poor is ruining the Island. Every time a new house is built you just made it necessary to now provide housing for any future offspring. It's endless
Great to hear, conservation
Mark EdgartownGreat to hear, conservation of our island is such an important initiative.
Great addition,Land Bank, can
Ken Rusczyk OBGreat addition,Land Bank, can't wait to walk this special place!
Congrats to the Land Bank on
Matt AquinnahCongrats to the Land Bank on further adding to such an important and meaningful endeavor. Keep up the good work!
They keep buying , because
Jon Oak BluffsThey keep buying , because they can, preserving wealth- you cant build affordably because theres not much land available - environment here is not just dependent on ecosystem here - - what happens in mainland , ocean everywhere affects here- buy land over in mainland - plant more trees everywhere in the world. Its a scam by rich people to preserve their wealth.
Feel humbled and grateful and
Miranda Edison MenemshaFeel humbled and grateful and excited: are these historic two years of preserving land for all to revere holding true just on MV or is this a trend in other places?
I look forward to being able
Bob EdgartownI look forward to being able to use the beach and hope that they have more than two or three parking spaces. One of the huge problems of land Bank properties is not enough parking for people to actually use the property. Let’s hope that is not the case here.
Having bought and sold
Gail Howe Oak BluffsHaving bought and sold several properties on MV over the years, I always resented having to pay the Land Bank fees on top of everything else at the same time but this purchase brings it all into perspective. Thanks to the Land Bank Commissioners for their hard work to benefit all of us.
This is absolutely phenomenal
Posy Bass ChappyThis is absolutely phenomenal; a truly spectacular achievement! Congratulations to all who worked on this project, thank you!!
Thank you! What a treasure
Anne Verret-Speck AmesburyThank you! What a treasure is being protected!
Love that we are preserving
Mike SomewhereLove that we are preserving the Islands fragile and significant environments. Who picks up the shortfall in taxes this will create.
Thank you to Ms. Kennedy for
Anne EdgartownThank you to Ms. Kennedy for allowing for the Trust to purchase the land at a lower price than what was offered. However, a nice donation of the land to be preserved would have been the ultimate gift.
Grateful for yet another
Naina WilliansGrateful for yet another piece of untouched property on this bucolic island. As one who walks weekly with a group along the abundance of trails preserved for public use, it is truly a gift to have the keepers of the land who make certain such grounds maintain their natural order and beauty!
Affordable housing should be
David Corriveau Lebanon, New HampshireAffordable housing should be a collective project of the business community, not the conservation community. It's in the best interest of that sector to make sure that it keeps a reliable workforce on Island
Awesome!!’ Thank you! Now how
Katie ObAwesome!!’ Thank you! Now how about more than 4 parking spaces??
Amazing yes!!! to put this
Eve ChilmarkAmazing yes!!! to put this property in conservation I have respectfully wandered this part of the Island my entire life with reverence for the pristine nature and ancient power the land embodies. That said the additional comments concerning affordable housing will be with us forever now. If you look in the Gazette or the Times or Craigslist the number of year-round rentals is becoming as extinct as Ben the last Heath Hen. Will we survive yes! Will the disparity between Uber rich, wealthy, and comfortable continue to define us yes! Will the challenges of 21st-century resource management aid all parties concerned HELL NO! Those of us that have spent our entire lives here and generations before us will adapt and playfully poke fun at those who never get their hands dirty and call their caretaker to refill the bird feeder, install a battery in a smoke detector, or change a light bulb. I used to think I was cursed by being capable of completing a multitude of chores, but that was the norm in the 1970s and now I know I'm cursed by being smart enough to buy land on the Vineyard when I was still in my twenties and my friends are dying and I don't like the new summer people. My son calls them cupcakes because they are soft they need someone to do everything for them. My nephew is a master electrician he charges $150 an hour and he has more work than he can handle, He just can't buy a house and he works 50-70 hrs a week. You go Landbank, but remember the lifeblood of any island are the Locals and we are slowly disappearing like The pristine tracks of lands being preserved. We will survive there is always Winter when we find solitude and just perhaps summer folk will learn that Island Culture runs far deeper than one person's bank account. Ms.Kennedy, perhaps you can help the locals by buying some land for affordable houses? Please consider the context of my comment I remember when Dukes county had the highest level of unemployment in the commonwealth.
Come on Eve. Your post is
tom BostonCome on Eve. Your post is foolish, and I am being generous.
And profound thank you to Mrs
Adrienne off islandA profound thank you to Mrs. Kennedy Onassis for scooping up and preserving this
jewel of a place. Her wise stewardship and that of her family is a wonderful gift to the
Island.
The same tired old voices
DownislanderThe same tired old voices against affordable housing are the same tired old voices screaming that they can't find a plumber/contractor/electrician, or that they're taxes are too high because we have to pay more for teachers/administrators/town staff, etc. They just can't seem to put 2 and 2 together.
I don’t believe your math
Mark EdgartownI don’t believe your math squares either. High property values and the fact that many homes are used seasonally (not utilizing services and infra year round) is the reason why MV has the lowest tax rates in MA and amongst the lowest in the country. You will never be able to satisfy everyone and its not feasible to provide affordable housing for everyone. The more you build the more will come demanding it.
Only 4 parking spots?? It
MarieOnly 4 parking spots?? It would be nice to be able to visit This up island property but I am not willing to arrive at 8 am.
Judging by many of the
CharlesJudging by many of the comments in this thread I think the parking spots won’t be an issue if everyone who seems intent to somehow find a negative spin on what can only be considered a completely and utterly positive and uplifting story regarding the preservation of this land maybe just doesn’t go visit? Seems like a reasonable request by those of us who are excited about it and would like to enjoy the trails and serene surroundings without all the negativity. Problem solved on multiple levels.
Kudos to Caroline and the
Grazingbull Mashpee WampanoagKudos to Caroline and the Kennedy Clan for seeing Jackie O'S vision for the future the same as she did for the arts with the preservation of Carnegie Hall in NYC.
May we all continue to walk in such balance, enlightenment and grace.
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