The 2+ year process transferring ownership of Lowell’s oldest farm and protecting it as conservation land in perpetuity has been signed, sealed and delivered.

Documents recorded with the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds show that the Mass Audubon Society closed on Rollie’s Farm and the two parcels of land owned by the Perron family before the end of 2023. With the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust holding a conservation restriction on the property, the path is now cleared for the land to become a wildlife sanctuary and premiere site for urban agriculture and environmental education.

“We are super excited about these partnerships and community support for this project,” said Jane Calvin, Executive Director of the Lowell Parks and Conservation Trust. “The Perron family is leaving a legacy for the City of Lowell and the land has now been protected for generations to enjoy for education, recreation and agriculture.”

Calvin says you can expect to see temporary parking and trails being laid out this Spring, with the public granted access “later in the Fall.” Construction on the planned Education Center is slated to begin in 2025, though Calvin does not have a definitive timetable on its completion just yet.

Mill City Grows will lease the property, establishing a variety of programs on the space, including urban agriculture, community gardens, greenhouses, a food forest, farmer’s markets, and educational programming.

Rollie Perron and his family had owned the farm land since purchasing it seven decades ago, building a popular Christmas Tree Farm that had become a holiday season destination point for many in the city and surrounding communities.

The sales price on the two parcels totaling nearly 20-acres of land came in at just under $4-million.