WEST AMWELL: Farmland auction is slated April 21

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   WEST AMWELL — Preserved farmland along Route 179 will be put up for auction next month.
   The Max Spann Real Estate and Auction Company will conduct the auction of approximately 130 acres on Route 179 at 1 p.m. on April 21, at the West Amwell Township municipal building, 150 Rocktown-Lambertville Road.
   Property previews will be conducted from noon-2 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, and Wednesday, April 6.
   Located at 1454 Old York Road, also known as Route 179, the property includes more than 2,200 feet of road frontage along Route 179.
   According to Max Spann, the land “includes abundant tree stock.” The company’s website also notes the land’s proximity to Lambertville, “the Delaware River country town best known for its specialty shops, art galleries, fine dining, antique shops and historic bed and breakfast inns.”
   Before the farmland was preserved, it was owned by Toll Brothers. Toll operated the site as a tree farm.
   Almost exactly a year ago — March 16 — West Amwell Township and the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance bought the property for $1.5 million.
   The selling price represented a 32 percent discount off the certified market value in 2010. Two appraisals agreed the land was worth $17,000 an acre or $2,216,120. Toll Brothers agreed to sell it for $11,506.60 per acre.
   At the time, the township’s Open Space Committee chairman, Sean Pfeiffer, called the buy an “important acquisition” because it permanently preserved the site for agricultural use.
   Since its purchase, the plan has been to sell the farmland and put it back in private hands as a working farm.
   Much of the funding, $825,000, to help the township purchase the land came from a State Agriculture Development Committee grant that was secured with the assistance of the Hunterdon Land Trust Alliance.
   Hunterdon County contributed a little more than $220,000.
   For more information, visit the Max Spann website at www.maxspann.com or call the company at 908-735-9191 or 888-299-1438.