Wellesley College Accepts Town's Proposal to Purchase Land

The Wellesley College Board of Trustees voted Thursday to accept the town’s $35 million bid for the purchase of 46 acres adjacent to the current college campus.

According to a press release on the town’s website, the agreement ensures that at least half of the acreage known as the “North 40 property” will be preserved indefinitely as open space.

The college received 13 proposals for the land, the press release states, but the town’s proposal was ultimately selected due to the town’s “responsiveness to the issues of open space, sustainability and impact on neighbors and town services.”

“We are extremely pleased to have reached an agreement with the College,” said Donald S. McCauley, Wellesley selectman and chair of the town’s North 40 Visioning Committee. “Acquisition of the North 40 will enable the town to control the future development of this important parcel in a thoughtful manner, and provides great opportunities to preserve open space,satisfy municipal needs and ensure continued access to recreational land for Wellesley residents.”

There were proposals that would have generated more revenue for Wellesley College, but trustees voted for the proposal “that best balanced the needs of the college and the greater community,” according to the press release.

“It was most important to Wellesley College to select a buyer who agreed with our significant focus on sustainability and preservation of open space,” said Laura Gates, chair of the Wellesley College Board of Trustees.

Before the sale can be finalized, including approval of the agreement at a Special Town Meeting (expected to be scheduled in early 2015); completion of the town’s due dilligence review in the spring; a vote passing a Proposition 2 1/2 debt exclusion question at the town-wide election in March 2015; and a successful bond offering to raise the funds.

The press release said that If all these steps are completed, closing could be as early as late spring 2015.