Princeton Nurseries sells land for preservation

More that 1,900 acres in the heart of Central Jersey will be saved as wildlife habitat, preserved farmland, and additions to county parks and greenways along historic Crosswicks Creek at a cost of $27.8 million, officials announced Monday.

 

More than 1,000 acres will be preserved as open space through the creation of a 512-acre state Wildlife Management Area and nearly 500 acres of additions to the adjacent Monmouth County Park System's Crosswicks Creek Greenway and the Mercer County Park Commission's Crosswicks Creek Greenway corridor.

 

Another 900 acres will be preserved through acquisitions of development rights on farmland. When landowners sell development rights, or a farmland easement, they continue to own the land but agree to deed restrictions that keep the land permanently available for agriculture uses.

 

Final closing with members of the John Flemer family, which until recently operated the land as Princeton Nurseries, is expected to take place by early next year. The $27.8 million agreement uses more than $16.4 million in state, local and nonprofit open-space funding sources for the outright purchases of land for a 512-acre state Wildlife Management Area and nearly 500 acres as additions to the Monmouth and Mercer County park systems. The SADC and its partners are providing another $11.4 million to purchase farmland easements on an additional 900 acres.

 

The agreements were made possible by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program and the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC). The SADC this month also celebrated the preservation of its 2,000th farm under the Farmland Preservation Program.

 

Read more about the deal here.