Peabody Mayor Makes Case For $9 Million, 137-Acre Rousselot Purchase

PEABODY, MA — Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt on Thursday received City Council support for $9 million for the purchase of 137 acres of land owned by Rousselot Inc. at and surrounding the Meadow Golf Course with the hope that the city will be in line to purchase some or all of the remaining 263 acres of land the company owns in the city as it winds down operations at its current plant site.

Bettencourt said the land purchase agreement, which he announced earlier this week, will preserve the golf course and give the city control of the land that could otherwise be sold for commercial or residential development.

"I believe it is important for us to make this move to take away any unknown, any uncertainty," he said. "We control this land. You don't know what's going to happen. You don't know who would come in as a potential purchaser if we didn't purchase this property and it could be subject to a number of options at that time.

"I have always felt that this is the right move to make in order to preserve and protect that important asset."

He said he would bring forth a proposal at a future date to change the zoning of the 137 acres to preserve them as open space/recreational in perpetuity.

He told the City Council Legal Services Committee that the purchase would be paid for out of golf course proceeds, as well as money from the Community Preservation Act and Community Development.

"I do not want this to come out of the city operational budget," Bettencourt said.

The city currently owns the land housing seven of the 18 holes of the golf course with the other 11 holes on Rousselot-owned land that the city leased for two decades.

The Legal Services Committee gave unanimous approval to the purchase with all Councilors speaking voicing support for the purchase as well.

Bettencourt said he is continuing conversations with Rousselot about the city buying additional parcels of land the company owns in the city.

"I anticipate over the next year that we're going to be having significant discussions over the potential for that property being something that the city is interested in," he said. "I've always been open with the fact that we are very interested in purchasing that property. We are involved in those discussions now."

Bettencourt said the City Council will have the chance to vote for the bonding of the $9 million at its Dec. 28 meeting, and with approval, the first payment of $3 million would be paid the next day, with the balance of $6 million due on Feb. 28.

Rousselot Inc. announced in May that it was winding down operations at its Peabody plant and would complete that process by the end of 2023.

Bettencourt said Thursday night that remains the schedule for the plant with the possible exception of some deliveries and cleanup to be completed over the first quarter of 2024.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)