Manchester Land Trust Still Needs $500,000 For Lombardo Farm Deal

MANCHESTER, CT — With $1.2 million in the bank for the purchase of a former pig farm in the Silk City, the Manchester Land Conservation Trust is now facing the dauting task of raising the remaining half-million dollars to meet the asking price.

Here's the scenario for the 102-acre Lombardo Farm, which sits at Hillstown and Bush Hill Roads:

• The Manchester Board of Directors last week approved using $900,000 from a four-year-old, $4 million open space and historic assets preservation fund. That's $100,000 shy of what the trust requested.
• A $300,000 grant was authorized for the purchase in January under the state's Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Program, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and assists local governments, land trusts, and water companies in purchasing land to protect open space.
• The asking price is $1.7 million leaving the trust with $500,000 to raise.

Fundraising information can be found on the trust's website.

The proposal from the Manchester Land Trust will add 102 acres to the Bush Hill Preserve. A part of the preserve known as the Botti Farm was purchased with the help of a 2016 OSWA grant.

Lombardo Farm is completely surrounded by open space and would allow for passive recreation with the construction of trails connecting to the Bush Hill Preserve.

Access will be available along the property's 2,000 feet of frontage on Hillstown Road. A mature forest and a small spring-fed pond provide wildlife habitat. An open meadow provides habitat for migrating birds and "pollinator species."

The towns of Manchester, East Hartford, and Glastonbury are within a short distance of the site.