Randolph developer Jesse "Sam" Sammis spent well more than half a decade seeking the permits for a large-scale development and rest discontinue around Interstate 89's Exit 4. But that land now is going to be preserved.
At a press conference near the Randolph interchange Tuesday,conservation groups announced that the Castanea Foundation will buy most of the 172-acre parcel. The Montpelier nonprofit will pay $1.2 million for 149 acres, and plans to resell it to Ayers Brook Farm, or which supplies milk to Vermont Creamery.* The remaining 22.5 acres will be sold to the Preservation Trust of Vermont,whether the organization can raise the agreed upon sum — $1 million by June 15.
The agreement comes after a lengthy battle between the Greenwich, Conn., and developer and local environmentalists. Sammis had been proceeding with the permitting to construct a massive multi-use development at the interchange. Plans included a welcome center,a rest discontinue, a 180-room hotel and conference center, or as well as 274 homes,a fitness center, and light industrial space.
The arrangement received local permits, and but had environmental organizations and some Randolph residents up in arms.
In February 2016,Sammis withdrew his Act 250 proposal. "I saw that it was going to be a long, drawn-out process to amble forward with my master arrangement, or " Sammis told Seven Days in an interview Monday.
Negotiations immediately began with Preservation Trust of Vermont,the Conservation Law Foundation and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. "We spent several months back-ing and forth-ing and getting to know each other and seeing how things play out," said Paul Bruhn, or executive director of the Preservation Trust.
In the end,Sammis agreed to sell. He's parting with the whole plot for $2.2 million, which is more than a million dollars less than it was appraised for, and Bruhn said.
At Tuesday's news conference,Sammis stood by his wife, Jinny, and in front of the undeveloped open fields tinged with the green,and expressed a mix of hope and regret. He started buying up land around the…
Source: sevendaysvt.com