Stow Acres South Course Permanently Protected
On December 27, 2021 the Town and Stow Conservation Trust completed the acquisition of a Conservation Restriction on the South Course of Stow Acres, permanently protecting this 151-acre parcel located between Randall Road and the Assabet River, and allowing it to remain in private hands and used as a public golf course. The Conservation Restriction also provides for a public access trail around the perimeter of the golf course which will be developed over the coming year. The acquisition is the first step in a two-part project approved by Town Meeting voters to protect the majority of Stow Acres land for conservation and recreation purposes.
Stow Acres is the town’s largest golf course and its largest undeveloped property in a single ownership. The property contains significant conservation values – including riparian corridors along Elizabeth Brook and the Assabet River, scenic views from Randall Road and Gleasondale Road, and opportunities for significant landscape scale conservation and restoration. The 2016 Open Space and Recreation Plan identifies planning for the protection of Stow’s “at-risk” golf course properties as one of the Town’s highest priorities.
For the past two years, an innovative partnership that includes the Stow Planning Department, Stow Conservation Department, Stow Conservation Trust, a private developer, and the owner of Stow Acres has been engaged in developing a master plan vision for the property. This effort has been supported by the professional planning and landscape design firm of Dodson and Flinker, Inc. A key goal of the planning effort is to link implementation of the vision on both the North and South courses, allowing the town to pursue a unified approach plan for the entire property. These concept plans have received widespread community support. Together, the parties have identified priority locations to focus development, and areas that have the highest conservation and recreation values – including potential recreational trails, ballfields, and conserved corridors along Elizabeth Brook and the Assabet River. Future development would help the town meet its affordable housing requirements under Chapter 40B and enhance overall housing diversity in Stow.
At Annual Town Meeting in 2021, the Town voted overwhelmingly to purchase a Conservation Restriction on the South Course of Stow Acres for $1.5 million in Community Preservation Funds. The second phase purchase was also approved overwhelmingly by Special Town Meeting in October 2021 using $2.5 million in Community Preservation Funds plus an additional $1 million which will need to be raised from gifts and grants in 2022. The town will acquire 115 acres of the North Course for conservation and recreation purposes subject to Stow Acres retaining the right to continue golf use on a portion of the land for up to 10 years. The remainder of the North Course is being sold by Stow Acres to MCO & Associates which plans to develop a mixed income housing development on the land. Closing is anticipated in late 2022 after the completion of fundraising. The town will also begin working to develop a master plan for the conservation and recreation uses over the next year.
Please contact Kathy Sferra, Conservation Director at the Stow Conservation Department at conservation@stow-ma.gov with questions or comments.