Town Council approves purchase of 10 acre Chepachet property with ARPA funding

GLOCESTER – Members of the Glocester Town Council officially authorized the purchase last week of a 10-acre property in the center of Chepachet with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The lot at 1272 Putnam Pike will be acquired at a cost of $360,000 from owners Rene Pigeon and Patricia Mann. The property holds a two-story, six-bedroom colonial house, built in 1880 according to town property records.

And while officials have not yet determined how the town will use the new space, Town Council President William Worthy told NRI NOW this week that the deal was too good to pass up.

“In the future we’ll figure out a great use for this,” Worthy said, noting the lot is right near land already owned by the town: Glocester Memorial Park. “Properties that close to the town center – you can’t find stuff like that.”

Worthy noted it was the late Council President Julian Forgue who initially brought the idea to acquire the parcel to the board last year. Forgue had considered buying the property on his own for development, and even signed an agreement to purchase with the owners in 2021.

But Forgue later thought the town might find better use for the property and passed along the deal, according to Worthy.

The town received roughly $3.1 million boost in federal ARPA funding, with a portion now allocated to finance the acquisition.

At the Town Council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5, Worthy pointed to the land’s proximity to the park.

“The property is in the central village, and it’s adjacent to one of our recreational areas,” Worthy said.

Councilors unanimously approved the purchase without further discussion.

Worthy noted this week that the land, which is appraised at $356,400, features fields that could be well-suited to recreation or even town buildings.

“We didn’t buy it for any particular reason, but there’s lots of things that people want to do in town,” he said. “This was just a great opportunity to buy a piece of land connected to Glocester Memorial Park.”