Long-Sought Properties Off Milestone Road Acquired By Land Bank For $2.75 Million

Two properties off Milestone Road that the Nantucket Land Bank has pursued for more than a decade were finally acquired by the agency on Monday for $2.75 million.

The pair of properties at 32 and 34 Hinsdale Road have been the subject of a foreclosure, a condemnation by the Health Department, and an ownership dispute, but on Monday, the Land Bank completed its long-sought goal of adding them to its portfolio.

The Land Bank already owns several abutting properties, and executive director Rachael Freeman described the acquisition of the two properties on Monday as filling a "donut hole" in the Land Bank's existing holdings in the area.

"It's really exciting, and to be quite honest with you, I don't think I think we were sure even up until the day of closing that it was going to happen," Freeman told the  . "So it's great to see it through."

Freeman said the additions create a corridor of Land Bank properties stretching from Milestone Road to Old South Road, which already includes trails, community gardens, and the Hinsdale Park & Discovery Playground. 

"Originally, the reason that they were pursued is because they basically represented a donut hole in the middle of land bank property," Freeman said. "And so it was a great opportunity to just make that area completely trails. In combination with the playground, the community gardens, the labyrinth, starting on Old South Road, working your way all the way to Milestone, that Hinsdale corridor is probably our most highly used property because it has something for everyone. So, when this was started about 10 years ago, it was really became a priority because of the way it filled in and provided continuity in that corridor."

The details of the Land Bank's acquisition are as follows: the largest parcel included in the deal was purchased out of foreclosure from Deutsche Bank National Trust for $1.5 million. The Land Bank acquired two other parcels from Bob Jepson for $1.25 million.

Jepson will retain life rights to reside at the property until his passing, Freeman said, and his sons will be allowed to remain on the property for six months following his death. Due to this factor, the property will not immediately be open to the public, and the Land Bank defers immediate property planning when someone remains in residence on a property it acquires.

"I think the most important part right now is that the Land Bank is not immediately taking possession of the whole property," Freeman said. "There are life rights to the Jepson family, and so they're going to be inhabiting it and continuing to live there for some time, and with that in mind, we generally don't move forward with any sort of rapid planning process if there's somebody in residence."

The property purchases by the Land Bank come just days after it acquired another parcel on Madequecham Valley Road along Nantucket's south shore.