Harvard Selling 60-Acre Plot to Town

Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum is selling off a 60-acre plot of land to the town of Weston, Mass., provided the town can find the funds to meet the $27 million price tag.

The Case Estates property has been a part of the Arboretum’s holdings for over 60 years now.

Robert E. Cook ’68, director of the Arnold Arboretum, explained that the decision had been made to let go of the property because there was little justification for keeping it.

“When I came in 17 years ago it was clear then and it has only become clearer since that our primary focus should be the Arnold Arboretum in Boston,” Cook said. “When [the Case Estates] was first acquired, it was used as a hardiness testing station [for the arboretum’s acquisitions], as it’s colder there so if they survived out there they would probably survive in Boston.”

“When I came in as director it just made sense to consolidate all that in Boston.”

He said that the town had first approached him five years ago about a possible sale of the property, but the timing, with University President Lawrence H. Summers’ newly arrived in his post, was not ideal.

Now, however, “it’s clear that the university’s priorities are focused on developing the land in Allston,” Cook said. “So, when the town reapproached me about a year ago and asked me if we would be able to sell,” he was able to give them the nod.

The Case Estates was the property of the two Case sisters, Marian and Louisa, and much of it was acquired by Marian in the early decades of the 20th century. They donated their estate—202 acres in total—to the Arboretum in the 1940s. Some of the land has already been sold by the University to the town in the intervening years, or has been claimed by the U.S. government for municipal purposes.

Kathleen McCahan, chair of the Weston Case Estates Review Committee, said that the town—the only buyer the University is offering the package to—is eager to purchase.

“It is a key parcel for us, it’s one of our last big parcels,” she said. “It’s very centrally located for us as well as being a fantastically beautiful piece of property.”

At the asking price of $27 million, however, it will not be a straightforward transaction for the town.

“We’ll look for grants, foundations, see if there’s any town money available,” McCahan said, also mentioning that the Community Preservation Committee could provide some of the funding.

“We’ll work like crazy to do it,” she said. “There’s a lot of very enthusiastic people working on this.”

The high price of the property was based on an appraisal Harvard did to determine the land’s value, the results of which have been sent to the Weston authorities, according to Cook.

As for the use the money would be put to, he said that proceeds from the sale would probably go into the Arboretum’s endowment, to be used for future projects and upkeep.

McCahan said that there was potential that some of the land could be used for a school or other municipal purpose. In addition, if they need to pay back a bond taken out to acquire the property, “we may have to do limited development” on the land to raise money.

“But our first choice is preservation,” she said.

—Staff writer Alexandra C. Bell can be reached at acbell@fas.harvard.edu.