Land Purchase Links Preserves

Land Bank Buys Hilltop Property in Chilmark for $7 Million; Trail
Easements to Connect Two Large Sanctuaries

By IAN FEIN

In a strategic acquisition that will connect a vast network of
public trails in Chilmark, the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank this
week announced the purchase of 21 acres of hilltop land that offers
sweeping views of the south shore.

The lank bank has signed a contract to buy the property for just
over $7 million from siblings Jane Leavy, Jonathan Leavy and Elizabeth
Leavy Stroman. Chilmark assessors this year valued the property, which
is made up of three separate lots, at $7.1 million.

The purchase is significant because, along with a series of short
trail easements granted by neighbors, it will connect the land
bank's 50-acre Fulling Mill Brook Preserve to the 100-plus-acre
Middle Road Sanctuary owned by Sheriff's Meadow Foundation. The
link between those two properties will create a full loop of public
trails around the geographic center of Chilmark - connecting the
top of Peaked Hill to Meeting House Road, to Tea Land Farm and back
along the historic Middle Line Road. That network also continues to a
web of other trails and conservation properties throughout the town.

Chilmark land bank advisory board member Clarissa Allen this week
praised the neighbors who donated trail easements to the new land bank
property. She said the purchase was contingent upon obtaining those
trail links, and that neighbors Michael Fabrikant, Elizabeth
Frank-Bailey and the Abel's Hill Association all agreed to the
terms within a matter of weeks. Ms. Allen said she could not recall a
deal that came together so quickly and easily.

"Everyone understood right off that this was another link in a
really important trail system, but I still am amazed that so many people
were willing to come forward and welcome the public into their
communities," Ms. Allen said. "Lots of people will tell you
that they are conservation minded, but they don't actually do
anything about it. These people, without any fanfare, stepped up and
said yes."

After the Leavy property went on the open market, the land bank in
late February approached family members, who Ms. Allen said were excited
about working with the public conservation organization. And although
the land bank quickly recognized the Leavy property as an important
piece of land for both its place in the trail network and its views, the
organization had not previously identified the parcel as a priority
purchase.

"It was not on our radar, which is part of what was intriguing
about this," land bank executive director James Lengyel said.
"The land bank puts together a priority list to help shape its
thinking, but the list doesn't command it. If a beautiful
opportunity presents itself, and the land bank can afford it, then it
will pursue it."

With a panoramic view that extends all the way from Squibnocket
Point to the upper Chilmark Pond, the Leavy property stands as the
highest point on what was once the old Ocean View Farm. Some town
residents suggested this week that it might be one of the nicest views
in Chilmark.

Established by the Massachusetts state legislature in 1986, the
Vineyard land bank buys conservation land with a two per cent transfer
fee collected on most Island real estate transactions. Over the last two
decades, the organization has spent roughly $130 million to preserve
more than 2,700 acres spread out over 64 separate properties.

Preliminary land bank management goals for the Leavy property call
for the expansion of grasslands and the creation of trails. Land bank
staff note that the property still shows evidence of its earlier farm
use.

The only development on the property is a small summer home, built
by the late father of Ms. Allen and designed like a boat, which the land
bank will now use for staff housing.

Ms. Allen noted that, aside from the new trails and scenic view that
will be opened to the public, the land bank purchase also will forever
protect the land from further development.

"It's a significant piece of Chilmark real estate that
would have had one or maybe three wonking houses on it," Ms. Allen
said. "Nobody who bought that property would have lived in that
modest home," she continued.

"But now, looking back at Chilmark from the shore, that
hilltop will always look the same."