Deeds, signed Jan. 19, provide for the permanent preservation of the 340-acre St. Michael’s property in Hopewell Township, just outside Hopewell Borough
By Ruth Luse, Managing Editor
On Jan. 19, the deeds were signed that provide for the permanent preservation of the 340-acre St. Michael’s property in Hopewell Township, just outside Hopewell Borough.
”The preservation of this property will forever safeguard the unique charm and character enjoyed by Hopewell Borough and (Hopewell) Township today,” said D&R Greenway Land Trust board Chairman Richard Goldman.
D&R Greenway Land Trust led the preservation effort with a coalition of public-funding partners that included the New Jersey State Agriculture Development Committee (Farmland Preservation Program), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres Program (Mercer County), Hopewell Township and Hopewell Borough.
”D&R Greenway Land Trust would like to acknowledge the perseverance of all our public partners, who worked side by side with us to see this project through and the patience of all of our donors, who have eagerly anticipated the preservation of St. Michael’s,” said D&R Greenway Executive Director Linda Mead.
The public-funding partners contributed more than $8 million toward the $11 million purchase price of the land.
However, private fundraising closed the gap. In summer 2006, a group of concerned residents of Hopewell Borough and Hopewell Township stepped forward to help D&R Greenway raise the remaining funds required to preserve the St. Michael’s land. The St. Michael’s Preservation Committee’s campaign began in September 2006 at the Hopewell Harvest Festival where the community first was made aware of a plan to develop St. Michael’s.
”Community support for preserving St. Michael’s was phenomenal as was the dedication and enthusiasm of the committee and the coverage in the Hopewell Valley News,” said Leslie Davis Potter, chairwoman of the St. Michael’s Preservation Committee. “Many grassroots fundraising events were held — concerts, auctions and block parties. Support from over 800 individuals poured in. On Halloween night 2006, Callie Considine, a fourth-grade student at Hopewell Elementary School, went door to door in her neighborhood collecting funds. Her commitment to the project grew, and in total, she collected over $3,300 — truly an inspiration for young people.”
Additional contributions provided by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association and private contributions from The Willard T. C. Johnson Foundation, The Larson Land Fund and Bristol-Myers Squibb completed the $11 million acquisition.
”Preserving St. Michael’s has been a priority of the Borough of Hopewell for many years and the primary reason the borough established its local open space tax nearly a decade ago,” said Council President David Knights.
”Permanently protecting the green belt at our borders is a critical element in our Master Plan because it not only preserves the character and landscape of Hopewell Borough for generations to come, but also because it conserves vital lands and natural resources,” he added. “The entire Hopewell Borough community supported this effort, and we are very grateful to D&R Greenway and to all of our partners that we have reached this very successful conclusion.”
Given zoning regulations in the area, the St. Michael’s land could have easily played host to 150 houses, a D&R Greenway spokesman said. A less likely, but legally permissible “worst-case scenario” would have seen the site developed as a hamlet. This would have meant that up to 1,020 homes could have been built with provisions for up to 76,000 square feet of office or commercial space.
THE PATH TO PRESERVATION — It took more than six years to bring the St. Michael’s project to a successful conclusion. According to Ms. Mead, “In the 20 years of D&R Greenway’s history, this was by far the most intricate preservation project we’ve ever encountered.”
The St. Michael’s preservation project had the greatest number of public and private funding partners of any project D&R Greenway has ever worked on, Ms. Mead said. In addition, two dump sites on the property — one associated with the original orphanage and farm and the other an illegal site off Aunt Molly Road — needed to be cleaned up to meet DEP standards before the state agencies would release funding. This work took two years to complete, with excellent results. In fact, the former Aunt Molly Road site will be transformed into a 1-acre grove filled with native trees and shrubs to become a model for studying the effects of carbon sequestration.
Mr. Goldman said, “We would especially like to thank Bob Harris and his company, ENVIRON Inc. for donating their services to D&R Greenway and advising us during the cleanup process. We also thank Mark Solomon of Pepper Hamilton LLP, pro bono attorney for D&R Greenway, who provided countless hours of legal counsel throughout the course of this project.”
”The preservation of the St. Michael property is a tremendous success story and provides a roadmap for public/private conservation moving forward,” said Hopewell Township Mayor Michael Markulec. “D&R Greenway Land Trust, in cooperation with other nonprofit organizations, local business, community groups and municipal and county governments and the state came together to protect this environmentally sensitive property while also maintaining our history and agricultural heritage.”
”It is a rare opportunity to preserve such a large, contiguous piece of property in New Jersey, and we were glad to join the many partners who contributed to this environmental victory,” said DEP Acting Commissioner Bob Martin, a resident of Hopewell Township. “This property embodies all the benefits achieved from preserving open space — enhanced recreational opportunities, protected wildlife habitat and clean air and water.”
BORDERING THE BOROUGH OF HOPEWELL to the south and east, the land encompasses farm fields and woodlands. Largely undisturbed since the Hopewell Valley was settled more than 300 years ago, this property provides a direct link to the borough’s agricultural history.
The land is known as St. Michael’s because the St. Michael’s Orphanage and Industrial School was built on the property in 1896. The facility closed in 1973, but the land remained open and undeveloped. In 2004, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton approached D&R Greenway Land Trust to see if a viable solution could be found to preserve the land as an alternative to selling the property to developers.
”We are extremely pleased to have had a role in this effort to preserve open space in Hopewell through the sale of the St. Michael’s Orphanage property,” said Rayanne Bennett, spokeswoman for the Diocese of Trenton. “It is fitting that this land, which once served the needs of so many children, will now bring enjoyment to the wider community. It has been a privilege to work with D&R Greenway and its partners in putting together this sale, and we are particularly grateful to our attorney, Dave Roskos, who worked very hard these past few years to bring this to fruition.”
”The preservation of this property protects more than 200 acres of farmland that will serve as an important agricultural resource for the surrounding community,” said Agriculture Secretary Douglas H. Fisher, who chairs the State Agriculture Development Committee. “As a result, we were pleased to provide an approximately $3 million grant — the largest we have ever awarded to a nonprofit organization — to partner in the preservation of this land, which was among the largest remaining unprotected farms in Mercer County.”
THE ST. MICHAEL’S PROPERTY encompasses a wide variety of environmental resources. Fallow fields and floodplains provide grassland, hedgerow and shrub-land habitats for many species of birds. Wooded areas support mature trees that restore oxygen to the air and support the collection of ground water into aquifers.
The Bedens Brook and its four tributaries cross the property, providing scenic stream corridor habitat, before emptying into the Delaware and Raritan Canal, helping to support an important source of drinking water for the region.
D&R Greenway will continue to farm St. Michael’s. As they have been since Hopewell was settled more than 300 years ago, the fields will continue to be used for productive farming.
The wooded acres on the property support biodiversity and a healthy environment, safeguarding water resources and wildlife habitat and can provide a wealth of recreational opportunities. Plans are under way to identify trails through the nonagricultural portions of the property. St. Michael’s could, in time, become the hub for a regional trail network, linking to Princeton, Pennington and up into the Sourlands.
”Mercer County is pleased to be a partner in the preservation of this significant open space and farm parcel,” said Brian M. Hughes, Mercer County executive. “In the current economic times, no one entity could have preserved this without the help of others and the significant contribution of individuals.”
D&R GREENWAY is planning a community celebration in the early summer. The date and time will be announced in the spring.
D&R Greenway asks anyone who wants to see the property to stay on existing farm roads until trails have been marked and informational signs posted.
”Please visit only during daylight hours,” a spokesman said.
For the latest about plans for St. Michael’s and information about D&R Greenway Land Trust, visit www.drgreenway.org.