Princeton Team Closes Major Land Preservation Effort In Central New Jersey

A team of lawyers from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP has closed a deal on behalf of the William Flemer Family involving the sale of a 1,890-acre parcel of land to the State of New Jersey for $28 million. A team led by partners Todd Johnston and Richard Goldman represented the William Flemer Family, Allentown Tree Farm and Crosswicks Farms in the sale of the Flemer Entities Property, formerly known as Princeton Nurseries.

The property is part of a complex land preservation effort being undertaken by the State, which began five years ago and involves funding from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Green Acres Program, the State Agricultural Development Committee, Monmouth, Mercer and Burlington Counties, Upper Freehold Township and the Monmouth Conservation Foundation.

As part of the transaction, the Flemer Family is aggressively moving forward with the removal of nursery stock, making the land safe for public recreational use and restoring the lands for a grassland bird habitat. The Flemer Family has a goal to complete the restoration of the lands in Spring 2013, and the NJDEP and Monmouth County expect that the lands can be opened to the public at that time.

In addition to Drinker Biddle partners Johnston and Goldman, associates Jennifer Fried and Nicole Bayman and paralegal Holly Burke worked on the deal.