The Polk County Community Foundation recently purchased more than 430 acres of land along the Green River in Polk County for community recreation and enrichment. The land has rolling hills, streams and forests, and more than 2.6 miles of Green River frontage. Accessed from South Wilson Hill Road in Polk County, unpaved roads running through the property offer easy recreational access.

The purchase price of $1.3 million was half the appraised value. Because a nonprofit bought the property, the seller, a developer from Charlotte, received tax benefits for its gift of half the appraised value. The property previously was being marketed to developers. Community Green LLC, an entity created by the board members of the Polk County Community Foundation, owns the property.

Many generous donations to the Community Foundation made the preservation of this land possible. The foundation is especially appreciative of those who trusted it to identify and fund exciting charitable opportunities and left all or part of their estates to the Polk County Community Foundation to be used for community benefit.

Foundation president and CEO, Elizabeth Nager, and the Bradley Endowment Fund negotiated the terms of the purchase over many months. Board members made several visits to the property and were impressed by its natural beauty, the quiet, and the possibilities offered by easy access to the Green River. The foundation looks forward to offering recreational opportunities on this Green River property, Nager said.

“It is not open to the general public at this time,” she noted. “However, we are making arrangements for local land trusts and other groups to access this appealing property. The tract has many elevations and exposures so it offers several unique habitats and microclimates which enable local species to continue to thrive on the land by moving over to the next microclimate. As large tracts of land in our area are sold for development or posted with ‘no trespassing’ signs, we anticipate that this many acres of land in one tract will become even more important in the future. One board discussion likened this purchase to the foresight that created the national parks we enjoy today.”

Local attorney Anderson Haynes said, “The land acquisition is such a creative use of the resources trusted to the foundation.”

“It is so peaceful to be away from traffic noises. We imagined star gazing at night away from bright lights,” Nager said, as she summarized board discussions.

“Purchased for the long-term benefit of our community, this land is an asset of the foundation that we can look at and hike on. We are making this significant investment in the future of our community because natural areas are important to our community. The foundation worked hard to acquire this large tract, recognizing that opportunities to acquire unspoiled land like this in our community are decreasing every day. We have seen how recreational lands have created jobs and more desirable places to live in other communities and will be seeking ways this investment in our future can benefit us now and later.”

The last time the foundation bought property for recreational use, its Bradley Fund purchased land now known as Alexander’s Ford at Bradley Nature Preserve, a Polk County property listed on National Park Service maps.

With that acquisition, the foundation arranged for the Polk County to purchase the land from Bradley Fund LLC using grant funds from various sources, including the Marjorie and Lawrence Bradley Endowment Fund of Polk County, N.C., a supporting organization related to the foundation.

Since 1975, the Polk County Community Foundation has been dedicated to advancing philanthropy and improving the quality of life for all citizens in the community centered in and around Polk County, N.C. The foundation receives charitable donations of all sizes from community members and then distributes grants to area nonprofits, awards scholarships to local students, manages endowment funds for local nonprofits, and administers other funds tailored to the specific charitable wishes of individual donors.

Learn more by visiting polkccf.org or calling 828-859-5314.

– article submitted
by Noah W