Town Buys, Leases Marshall Farmland

The selectmen formally voted to purchase the 1.8 acre Marshall Farm on Harrington Avenue at its Monday meeting. The parcel stands between two other town-owned lands on the Assabet River.

Town Manager Chris Whelan said the land will be leased back to Richard Marshall for farming for as long as he wishes to operate the Marshall Farmstand. The stand is a popular place in West Concord for locally grown flowers and vegetables.

Town Meeting voted last spring to purchase the farm so that together with the other 20 acres that the town already owns, there would be a contiguous stretch along the river.

The purchase price was $725,000. Whelan said Marshall is anxious to get a portion of the sale price to maintain his farm. There are two different septic systems on the three parcels.

The board voted to redo the lease to combine the three parcels into one, adding an addendum to the lease. The selectmen also had Whelan sign the Purchase and Sale agreement and the lease.