Stow Acres Planning Process

Stow Acres Map - 3 Parcels

This page contains all available information related to the Stow Acres Planning Process. If you have comments or questions regarding the process or any of the information on this page, please send email the Project Team at StowAcresPlan@stow-ma.gov.

Since Summer 2020, a five-member planning team, led by the well-respected landscape architecture firm Dodson and Flinker, Inc., has embarked on an intensive, multi-disciplinary effort to create a shared vision for the future of the North and South courses of Stow Acres. The planning effort is a unique public-private partnership, including Stow Conservation Trust, the Stow Planning and Conservation departments, local development firm MCO & Associates, and Stow Acres Country Club. This unified approach seeks to advance the interest of all parties.

The panel has identified the property's environmental, recreational, and cultural resources. Three opportunities have emerged:

  • Large-scale conservation and ecological restoration of the most-sensitive areas,including protection of the Assabet River and Elizabeth Brook corridors.
  • Maintaining and creating recreation opportunities, including continued golf, municipal playing fields, and a publicly accessible multi-use trail network.
  • Diversified housing with a traditional New England architecture, which can help the town meet its affordable housing goals.

The Town of Stow has now reached a conceptual agreement with the owners of Stow Acres to purchase the 115-acre North Course, allowing the Town to shape protection and development of the North Course in a way that aligns with community priorities and the opportunities listed above.

Roughly 65 Acres of the North Course will be sold for housing. This will include a mix of single-family homes and age-restricted multi-family housing at a mix of sizes and price points, all designed to minimize the impact on the environment. The remaining 115 acres will be set aside for conservation and public recreation, with a 10-year lease for continuing golf on nine holes of the North Course. There will be a master planning process to determine layout of these future town uses. 

October 2021- North Course Town Purchase

Agreements are now in place between Stow Acres, developer MCO & Associates, and the Town to move forward on the vision for the North Course. Stow Voters approved funding for the North Course purchase at the October 30th, 2021 Special Town Meeting. The Town anticipates funding for the purchase will come from the following sources:

  • $2.5 million from Community Preservation Act funds
  • $1 million from a combination of state grants, foundation grants, and private fundraising
  • Up to $500,000 in borrowing in the FY2023 Town Budget to close any funding gaps

A public forum ahead of the Special Town Meeting vote was held October 13th. You can view a recording of the forum and the slides at the links below

>> RECORDING: Oct 13 Stow Acres Open Space, Recreation, and Housing Project Update <<

>> Public Forum Slides << 

May 2021- South Course Conservation Restriction

At Annual Town Meeting in May 2021, Stow voters agreed to spend $1.5 million in Community Preservation Act funds to purchase a Conservation Restriction (a permanent restriction on the deed which identifies important ecological features of the property and limits future use to protect those features) on the 151-acre South Course. 

>> May 12, 2021 Public Forum Presentation Slides <<

February 2021- Public Forum

Aerial Photograph of Stow Acres with Frequently Asked Questions written over the image