LYNNFIELD — Monday was a historic day for Lynnfield, as the town officially closed a deal on a project more than two years in the making, that will guarantee the protection of the Richardson Green property from future development.
“This has been quite literally just over two years since it all started right before COVID hit in 2020,” said Director of Planning and Conservation Emilie Cademartori. “Normally getting this done would be a 120-day process. It feels surreal as it’s been coming for such a long time, but we are all so excited that it’s done.”
Richardson Green, Inc., the owners of the 21-acre property located in northern Lynnfield, close to where the communities of Middleton, North Reading, and Peabody converge, transferred the title via a quitclaim deed to Essex County Greenbelt Association, Inc. (Greenbelt) for $2.7 million.
In exchange, Greenbelt granted a conservation restriction to the town for $2.4 million, which ensures that the property can only be used for conservation purposes.
The property had been inspected previously for private development, until the town and Greenbelt partnered to purchase this unspoiled and natural property and protect it with the restriction.
The $2.7 million purchase was possible because of a grant from the state. In August 2021, Lynnfield was awarded a $1.6 million Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) action grant from Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA). Through private donations, the town has raised an additional $771,000, and Greenbelt has raised $300,000. The town’s Conservation Commission will hold the conservation restriction.
Greenbelt owns and manages more than 6,000 acres of conserved property across Essex County. These are free and open to the public to explore trails, with places to hike, paddle, bike, cross-country ski, and many other outdoor activities. Greenbelt’s staff maintains public access to all its properties, creates and maintains trails, installs signage and fencing, and conducts other land-stewardship duties. Greenbelt is now preparing plans to provide public parking, signage and trail maps for this new addition.
“The next step will be Greenbelt will host an initial walkthrough on May 14, then begin work on the parking lot,” Cademartori said.
The Richardson Green parcel is seen as a keystone property and entrance into an even larger forested plot of more than 600 acres, known as Willis Woods, which comprises the largest undeveloped area in the Ipswich River Watershed and is principally owned by the Lynnfield Center Water District and the town. Willis Woods is bisected by the former Salem-Lowell rail bed and touches the endpoints of proposed and existing recreational trails in Middleton, North Reading and Peabody.
A comprehensive Willis Woods trail network represents a significant future opportunity to connect the residents of these communities through their existing and planned trails, as well as other trail networks in the county and beyond. A vision plan has been prepared by these four communities and will soon enter a design phase.
“The Conservation Commission and Greenbelt have agreed to donate the money for that next step, which is engaging the services of a consultant, hopefully by the start of the summer, to develop a trail-master plan,” Cademartori said.
