Pilgrim 1600 Acre Area

The Pilgrim1600 Acre Area, (Pilgrim1600), is a large tract of privately owned land between Manomet and Plymouth Town Center. Since the closing of the Pilgrim Power Station, the Town of Plymouth has been exploring opportunities for this land to help support economic development and offset the loss of jobs and tax revenue that Pilgrim provided. As a resident of Plymouth, we are looking to you to help us imagine how this land should be used and stewarded to address the needs of the Plymouth community.

 

Before you begin this survey, here are a few things to keep in mind:
 

• Conservation: In this survey conservation means setting aside open space (fields, forests, wetlands and coastline) for recreational uses and wildlife protection. This planning process will help to define how much land should be conserved, what that conservation looks like, how it is funded and how it can be leveraged to generate economic opportunities for the town.

• Economic Development: When the Pilgrim Power Station closed, Plymouth lost 600 high-paying jobs and $10-$14 million a year in tax revenue. The Pilgrim1600 site provides an opportunity to strengthen Plymouth's economic resilience. Existing roads, power lines and breakwaters on the Pilgrim1600 represent past investments that could continue to generate value for Plymouth.

Economic development and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals and in many cases can complement each other. We want your help to imagine how to weave together open spaces and development on the Pilgrim1600 to create unique places that add to Plymouth's story and support its long-term economic, ecological, and social vitality.

Your Power in this Process

As a community member you will be invited to participate in this survey and two upcoming events. In this process you have the power to…

 

• Share your own experiences in and around the Pilgrim1600 and focus the planning team's attention on issues which are important to you.

• Imagine uses and programs on the Pilgrim1600 which support your needs and the needs of your community.

• Define limits for acceptable and unacceptable future uses of this land which will be strongly considered by Town leadership and the land's owner.

• Provide insights which guide the planning team's recommendations.

 

It is important to acknowledge that the Pilgrim1600 is not publicly owned land. The owners of the land have the power to…

 

• Decide when and if to sell land.

• Use this land according to standing agreements with the Town.

 

The Town of Plymouth reserves the right of first refusal on this land. This means that if the owner is ready to sell any portion of the Plymouth1600, the Town has the exclusive right to purchase it without competition from third parties. It is only if the Town declines to purchase the land that it can then be sold on the general real estate market.