Sale to Land Trust helps green space grow
Source: pittsburghlive.com, by Allison M. Heinrichs
January 18, 2007
As a child, Tom McCargo loved playing in the woods and fields at the headwaters of Little Sewickley Creek.
As a parent, he felt an obligation to make sure that not only his children, but children throughout the region, would get that same experience.
Last month, McCargo sold 51 acres in Sewickley Heights at half the appraised value to the Allegheny Land Trust, which will protect the land as a natural area. It adds to 47 acres he sold to the land trust in 2003, also at half price.
"Sewickley, and Allegheny County as a whole, is unique in this country with how much open land there is," said McCargo, who is a real estate developer and investor doing work across the United States. "I think we're always so obsessed with growth that we're willing to give away the future. But once you build on land, you can't go back."
The property -- a mix of rolling meadows and dense forest -- is framed by Magee and Audubon roads and is minutes from Interstate 79. Trails wind through throughout the land and the public is welcome to walk on it.
The 51-acre tract McCargo sold in December is appraised at $2.6 million, but he allowed the land trust to purchase it for $1.3 million. It was the only land in the area zoned for family housing development -- which means that if McCargo sold it to developers, 500 homes could have been built on it.
"I'm a developer, so I appreciate the value of that," said McCargo, of Sewickley Heights. "But I also appreciate the outcome. Open space is disappearing rapidly."
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources awarded the land trust a $1 million grant to buy the land. The rest of the money was donated by local foundations and people in the community, who gave anywhere from $10 to $10,000, said Roy Kraynyk, executive director of the land trust.
Since 1993, Allegheny Land Trust has conserved 1,340 acres in 17 municipalities in Allegheny and Washington counties. It recently refined its mission to focus on preserving land that is scenic, helps manage stormwater and improves water quality, and has a diversity of plants and animals.
McCargo's land "was pretty prime," Kraynyk said. "It really fit all our criteria."
Trails on the property link Sewickley Hills and Sewickley Heights parks, creating a combined 1,100 acres of public green space.
"It's wonderful," said Lori Gross, who lives in Sewickley Heights, near the new Allegheny Land Trust property. "The local community is thrilled because we want to protect the Little Sewickley Creek watershed."
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