Eagle River Land Deal Costs $20.5 Million

Land deal costs $20.5 million

By ROB RYSER
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: February 1, 2005)

SOMERS — The planned sale of 653 acres of woods and wetlands from a developer to a group of government entities represents a $20.5 million deal, the sides confirmed yesterday, as details of the historic agreement began to emerge.

"This is probably the largest and most important unprotected piece of property left in Westchester County," said Paul Gallay, executive director of the Westchester Land Trust, a nonprofit group in Bedford Hills that brokered the agreement on the land known as Eagle River. "When you find a property this large and this unfragmented, you have one of the last opportunities to protect a scenic resource and habitat for wildlife that the county has been losing for years."

Gallay's enthusiasm for the deal, which could take as long as a year to close, was echoed yesterday by representatives of the funding partners. They are the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which would spend about $9.4 million; the town of Somers and Westchester County, which would each spend about $4 million; and the state Department of Environmental Conservation, which would spend about $3.2 million.

"It's extraordinary just from the perspective of what it will mean for Somers in the long run," Town Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy said. "It really gives us the chance to hold on to our character."

The land, which had been approved three decades ago for 1,200 housing units, was under development pressure from a group of Queens investors who wanted to put 108 mansions there. More than 50 of those luxury homes were planned on the western third of the property, closest to the Muscoot Reservoir and New York City's drinking water system, which supplies 9 million people.

"It is a very large property in a very sensitive drainage basin," said DEP spokesman Ian Michaels, whose agency would buy 269 of the acres outright, with the goal of opening them to the public. "The Croton Reservoir system is the most impacted by development and the system where the real estate prices are the highest, so it is nice to be able to work with everyone on such a large parcel."

Under the deal, which will be the subject of a special informational hearing in Somers on Feb. 10, the town would keep 15 acres and pursue long-awaited plans to build a recreation center.

The rest of the land, some 369 acres, would be co-owned by Westchester County and the town, and managed by the town. As part of the agreement, the town would adopt a plan to provide more affordable housing, including measures such as relaxing restrictions on accessory apartment approvals, and requiring affordable homes as part of major new developments.

The county money, which comes from County Executive Andrew Spano's Legacy Program, has to be approved by the Board of Legislators.

County Legislator Michael Kaplowitz, D-Somers, the chairman of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, called the deal an "incomparable opportunity."

Although a contract has not been signed, Murphy expressed confidence that the deal would close. The developer's lawyer, Henry Hocherman, shared her optimism.

The sale represents the most money the county and DEP have spent on an open-space acquisition to protect the Croton system.

At some point, Murphy said, the property's name would change from Eagle River to Angle Fly Preserve, after the trout-spawning stream that runs through the center of the land.

"The developers are pleased that the property will be preserved in this way, as, frankly, I am," Hocherman said.