Open Space Institute Buys Scenic Site of an Old Friary

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
The NEW YORK TIMES

The Open Space Institute has bought a 93-acre parcel along the Hudson River in Garrison, N.Y., from an order of Capuchin-Franciscan friars who ignited fierce protests a few years ago when they proposed selling the land to a developer.

The institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting land from development, said yesterday that it had bought the property, the site of the grand Mary Immaculate Friary, built in 1928 and overlooking the river, for $7.4 million.

The institute said the open space on the property would eventually become public parkland, while the friary would be sold to a new nonprofit organization that plans to use it for "continued seminary uses."

"The future of this magnificent property is finally secure," said Joe Martens, the president of the institute, which said the property also harbored some historical significance. A carriage road on the property, now known as Beverly Dock Road, was the escape route used by Benedict Arnold after his attempted surrender at West Point, across the river from the property, the institute said.

The Capuchins, who acquired the land from the family of former Gov. Hamilton Fish in 1923, have tried for years to sell the property, about 55 miles north of Manhattan, on Route 9D. As the order's numbers dwindled, it gradually moved its activities to other seminaries in the area, but it still faced high insurance and maintenance costs for buildings it hardly used.

A developer in White Plains, Schwartzberg Associates, proposed investing $40 million to $50 million in the site several years ago to convert the friary into a hotel and build nearly 200 upscale town houses near it.

But residents in the village, home to many former city dwellers and commuters enjoying the country life, balked. They organized protests and petition drives against the development. Although Schwartzberg made changes, the new plans failed to mollify the opposition, and the outcry forced the Capuchins to look for another buyer.

An assistant to Harris Schwartzberg, the firm's principal in charge of the proposal, said Mr. Schwartzberg was unavailable for comment yesterday.

"We are delighted that Open Space Institute's commitment to environmental integrity will help preserve the natural beauty of the land well into the future," Friar Michael Marigliano of the Province of St. Mary said in a statement. "Such are the gifts of creation."

Mr. Martens said the institute would sell 12 acres, including the 72,000-square-foot friary, to the newly formed Garrison Institute, whose benefactors are affiliated with Jewel Heart, a spiritual and cultural organization based on Tibetan Buddhism.

The institute will work with the town of Philipstown, which includes Garrison, to find acceptable uses for the other buildings on the property. They include a 37,000-square-foot convent, a 34,000-square- foot dormitory and a 1,600-square-foot guesthouse.