Kennett Township’s Open Space Purchase
November 7, 2018
Kennett Township Board of Supervisors are excited to announce that they successfully completed the purchase of the 103 acres; the Spar Hill Property. The property borders between Burnt Mill, Center Mill and Old Kennett Roads and abuts the Lord Howe Property owned by the Township containing 68 acres. The Township worked in a collaborative effort with the Township Land Conservation Advisory Committee (LCAC) and The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC) to preserve 103 acres, which will become a passive recreation area with trails and open space for the entire community to enjoy. The purchase price was $3.2 million and $1m of the price was grant funding from Mt. Cuba.
The proposed trails for the property will connect to an adjacent property, which has an open space and trail easement held by The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC). With this addition of open space and trail connections we will be able to create additional trail networks eventually connecting to the Kennett Greenway.
The acquisition took over a year to complete and required significant negotiations and persistence by TLC and the Township. We are delighted that the Spar Hill Family agreed to work with the Township, the LCAC and TLC to facilitate this amazing open space acquisition. We congratulate and applaud everyone involved in this acquisition, which will help protect and preserve 103 acres for the enjoyment of everyone who works and lives in the Kennett Township area as well as for future generations. Through this project, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors, assisted by the LCAC and TLC, is conserving the natural environment, supporting agriculture, and connecting people to nature, by protecting open spaces, natural areas, and creating open space for everyone to enjoy.
In addition, The Township assisted TLC in acquiring 20 acres as an open space acquisition located off of Bucktoe Hills Road. The Township donated $480k, which $100k may possible be reimbursed to the Township from a grant. The property will have trail linkages from Marshall Bridge Road. Congratulations to TLC on this acquisition and continued open space preservation.