Alliance on path to preserve Lewes land

Former Lewes Mayor Jim Ford hosted the latest grassroots meeting of the Open Space Alliance on June 29 in his home.

The alliance is raising money to purchase and preserve two parcels of land, the Fourth Street Preserve within the city and Ard na Gréine just outside city limits.

About 20 people came to hear Ford and the head of Horizon Philanthropic, Mike Rawl, lay out a plan for raising donations. Horizon is leading the fundraising campaign.

The alliance is a partnership with Sussex County Land Trust and Greater Lewes Foundation. Ford chairs the alliance and is a member of the foundation’s board.

“The thing we have going for us is that the owners of the properties are interested in preserving basically as it is. Passive recreation is what we’re calling the uses for most of this. It’s not going to be buildings, it’s more for trails and for habitat,” said Ford.

The organization is in the process of raising $18.3 million from public and private sources to buy the 29-acre Fourth Street Preserve, which comprises seven acres on the canal side of Fourth Street and 22 acres on the opposite side. Ard na Gréine, which in Gaelic means high place of the sun, is 89 acres between Savannah and New roads. It has direct access to Canary Creek and the Lewes-to-Georgetown Trail. The Sussex County Land Trust has already given $1 million to the project. The alliance held its first meeting earlier in June and raised $700,000, Rawl said.

Rawl also told attendees of the meeting that former Lewes resident Leland Burton, who now lives in Florida, is donating $50,000 in the form of a challenge grant. That means Burton will match donations dollar-for-dollar up to that amount.

According to the alliance, $8 million is needed to purchase the Fourth Street Preserve and $8.5 million for Ard na Gréine, and $1.5 million will be split evenly between the two parcels for maintenance and future expenses. A smaller amount will be set aside to pay for development expenses.

“[This is] a once-in-a-lifetime kind of project,” said Rawl. “The reason we have the opportunity to do this is because the two landowners came to us with their land they wanted to preserve. It’s very difficult, because we find ourselves competing with developers and, in some cases, competing with family members that don’t want their parents to keep the land.”

Rawl said there will be a master plan to dictate how each property can be used in the future. He said once final agreements are signed with the sellers, nothing can ever be changed, no matter who might own the land.

The alliance has more grassroots meetings scheduled for August, September and October. It is also looking for residents interested in hosting future events. The group hopes to reach its fundraising goal by the end of 2024, said Ford.

For more information and to donate, go to greaterlewesfoundation.org. The Cape Gazette will also follow the organization’s fundraising progress.