Nearly 100 acres of green space in the heart of Winston-Salem is getting protection from development in a deal that could mean more public access to the land.
It's an area known simply at “The Farm” - mostly rolling open fields along Reynolda Road that have served The Children's Home – which merged with Crossnore last year – for more than 100 years.
The agreement allows Piedmont Land Conservancy to buy the development rights to the land, which is not far from downtown.
Kevin Redding, the conservation group's executive director, says the deal means the land will remain as open green space and will remove any temptation the school might have had to sell it.
“This project is a way that they're going to be able to pull out some of the equity in that land, put it to great use through their programming, but they're going to keep that land asset and be able to continue using it the way that they have been,” he says.
That means it will remain in its natural state to be used for education and heal children who come to the school in crisis. Crossnore is a residential foster-care program.
“This partnership is a win-win for PLC and Crossnore,” Crossnore CEO Brett Loftis said in a statement.
A capital campaign includes a plan to build a one-to-two-mile trail that will provide public access for runners and walkers.
(Ed.: The headline on this story was changed to correct the use of the term "farmland.")