The acquisition was announced last year, but closed this week,county officials note. Westchester County officials term the deal"one of the largest single open space acquisitions in WestchesterCounty history." The property will be renamed "Angle Fly Preserve."The parcel, located along Primrose Street (Route 139) and AmawalkRoad (Route 35) was sold by Eagle River LLP, which had proposed a108-home subdivision on the property.

The county and the Town of Somers each contributed about $4million toward the purchase of approximately 385 acres; the NewYork State Department of Environmental Conservation paid $3.2million; and the New York City Department of EnvironmentalProtection shelled out $9.4 million for the other 269 acres. Thetown will assume ownership of the 385-acre portion and will takeover ownership responsibilities for two county roads--Croton FallsRoad and Daisy Lane.

"The property is one of the largest remaining undevelopedparcels in Westchester and its location in the heart of the Crotonwatershed, which provides water to the New York City water supplysystem, underscores the importance of its preservation forprotection of water quality and biodiversity," says Westchestercounty executive Andy Spano. He adds that as part of the deal,Somers has agreed to adopt a plan to provide more affordablehousing.