Grants to pay for most of Millstone River property.
By: Jeff Milgram
WEST WINDSOR – The township has reached an agreement to pay $2.7 million for "one of the most pristine sites in all of central New Jersey," the 68-acre Bastien farm near the Millstone River, municipal officials said Monday.
"All the paperwork has been completed," Township Attorney Michael Herbert said Monday evening. He said the land purchase would be brought before the Township Council on Sept. 5.
Mayor Carole A. Carson said grants would pay for 65 percent of the price.
The land, the largest undeveloped property along the Millstone River, will be used for recreation and open space use, Mayor Carson said. The roughly triangular-shaped property is bordered by the Millstone River to the north, Dey Farm Estates to the west and the Kings Point development to the south.
Director of Community Development Samuel Surtees said the property will be farmed for at least three years, and no decision has been made about what recreational activities will be permitted after that.
The property, accessible to public water and sewers, has been a target for development. In 1997, Pennsylvania-based developer Toll Brothers contracted with the owners, Pierre and Mary Louise Bastien, to acquire the property and build 68 single-family homes on the site.
In 1998, the township approved an ordinance changing the allowable lot sizes for the property from 1 acre to 1.66 acres, decreasing the number of homes allowed on the parcel to 34, and Toll Brothers filed suit.
Toll’s contract with the Bastiens expired in November 1999 and the owners formally terminated the agreement this past March. Toll Brothers withdrew its lawsuit as well as its claim to the property.
"Toll Brothers is no longer in the picture," Mayor Carson said.
A public hearing on the contract is scheduled for Sept. 18.
Grants from the State Green Acres Program, the Mercer County Open Space Fund and the Delaware & Raritan Greenway are expected to pay for 65 percent of the $2.7 million purchase price, Mayor Carson said.
Mayor Carson pointed out that if the land purchase goes through, the township will have preserved 7,454 acres using township, state and county money, including 1,079 acres using only Township Open Space funds.