Aquidneck Land Trust gets $300,000 donation for bid to preserve Spruce Acres tree farm
Matt Sheley
Sheley@NewportRI.com
The Aquidneck Land Trust's campaign to save Spruce Acres tree farm on the Middletown-Portsmouth line got a significant boost recently.
The nonprofit land conservation organization announced Thursday the Gewirz family pledged $300,000 to protect the 23-acre parcel on East Main Road across from Mitchell's Lane and eventually make it the new headquarters for the land trust.
Land trust Executive Director Chuck Allott said the news is a major boost for the $2.3 million effort to buy the property from the Deveau family, which operated a popular Christmas tree farm there for years.
Allott said about $400,000 has been raised to date, with another $70,000 expected to be announced soon.
"This is a cornerstone gift and we couldn't be more humbled and honored with this generous, generous donation," Allott said. "With these types of campaigns, this type of news can really get the momentum going and helps push everything forward where we need it to be. There's a lot going on behind the scenes with this and several pending grants we're waiting on."
John Deveau said Thursday his family, which owns Spruce Acres, is thrilled with the news about the donation from Bernard and Sarah Gewirz.
He said his family has been doing everything possible to spread the word about the land trust's efforts to buy the land, which was in operation as a Christmas tree farm for more than 50 years.
As part of that outreach, Deveau said Spruce Acres is donating the Christmas tree to be displayed in Washington Square in Newport this year, another way to get the message out.
"This is wonderful news," Deveau said. "I stay in touch on a regular basis with Chuck Allott and I know on our end, we're doing everything we can to generate as much public support as we can."
It's exciting to be part of a campaign to save another piece of property on the island from development, Deveau said.
"It's something we've always wanted to do," Deveau said. "For the last 20 years, we've been meeting with the land trust, trying to see if we could make something work here, and this is definitely coming together."
The land trust rolled out the "Save Spruce Acres" campaign in August, aiming to add the site to its inventory of more than 2,550 acres of preserved land across the island.
The plan is to convert the historic main house at Spruce Acres into the land trust's offices, with outbuildings there to be used for educational programs. The land trust is now based in offices at 790 Aquidneck Ave.
Allott said the land trust has until March 2017 to come up with the necessary funding or the property could be at risk of being developed.
A sign on the Spruce Acres property encourages passing motorists to pitch in. To give, go to ailt.org or mail checks to the land trust, 790 Aquidneck Ave., Middletown, RI 02842.
"The reception to the concept has been very good," Allott said. "It's one of those pieces of property, when you take people out there and share our ideas, virtually everyone gets it. It's an amazing property and a wonderful opportunity."