An undeveloped, 643-acre property that includes four lakes in the town of Killingly was purchased recently by the state of Connecticut to be turned into public lands, officials announced Tuesday.
The land purchase — said to be one of the largest carried out by the state in recent years — was completed by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for $4.1 million, according to a press release.
The agency said it plans to add the property to its list of more than 100 wildlife management areas that are open to the public. No name had been chosen for the site as of Tuesday.
“This acquisition is a landmark achievement for environmental conservation in Connecticut,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement. “The new wildlife management area will not only protect vital ecosystems and water resources but also provide a serene space for the public to connect with nature through activities like wildlife watching and fishing.”
A spokesman for the agency said Tuesday that officials also plan to permit some hunting, pending a formal assessment of the property.
The property includes the 41-acre Lake Albert and three smaller lakes, as well as areas of forest and wetlands that are home to a “rich array of plant and animal species,” according to DEEP.
A listing on Zillow from January advertises the property for its “absolute peace, quiet and security with no public access.” The original listing price was $5.9 million.
The seller, Watertown developer Mark Greenberg, said he purchased the property in 1989 without any firm ideas of what he wanted to do with it. Later, he said he got local approval to build a sub-development of over 100 homes, only to find the cost of building the necessary roads and other infrastructure too prohibitive.
“Looking back, I wish I had not purchased it, it was not a good purchase for me,” he said.
After putting the property up for sale, Greenberg said the state reached out eight or nine months ago with a strong interest in purchasing the land, which he called a “wonderful” spot for its natural amenities. Ultimately, he said DEEP agreed to purchase the land for its appraisal price.
James Fowler, the DEEP spokesman, said Tuesday that the property had not previously been designated as open space and that its preservation “represents meaningful progress” toward achieving the state’s goal of setting aside 21% of its land — about 673,210 acres — as open space.
By law, that goal was supposed to have been reached by 2023. As of that year, however, DEEP reported it was only three-quarters of the way along.
According to CT Insider, the sale amounted to the single largest conveyance of land in Connecticut over the last three years — beating out an estate in Cornwall that was purchased last year.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
