ROCKPORT, Maine — The head of an international marine transportation company is the soon-to-be owner of a 116-acre waterfront parcel that previously had been eyed for development as a 45-lot subdivision.
The expected new owner, Angus Royal Cooper II, wants to convert the property to a single-family estate.
The Rockport Planning Board voted unanimously Wednesday afternoon to approve the dissolution of the Brewster Point subdivision.
Cooper said after the board vote that he became aware of the property only last month. He said he had considered purchasing another local parcel a few years ago, but that deal did not come to fruition. Then, when he was visiting the area on the Fourth of July, a friend brought him to the Brewster Point property and he knew that was the property he wanted.
Cooper’s attorney Stephen Hanscom said Cooper plans to revert the property to one of its former uses: a family farm. He said Cooper wants to, among other things, have orchards on the property, which has 5,500-feet of ocean frontage.
Cooper of Mobile, Alabama, is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Cooper T. Smith Corporation, a leading international marine transportation company.
According to Bloomberg Business, the company also produces and sells woodchips; operates terminals for loading and unloading rail cars, trucks and river barges; and operates restaurants in Alabama and Mississippi.
Sale of the Rockport property is expected to be finalized next Wednesday, Hanscom said.
The Brewster Point subdivision initially was approved by the town planning board in December 2007. The property is located off Warrenton Street and is adjacent to Clam Cove, less than a mile from the Samoset Resort. The land currently is owned by HFC Glen Cove LLC, which is affiliated with Leucadia real estate.
The Brewster Point project gained approval at the start of the real estate bust associated with the Great Recession. None of the 45 lots sold, but roads were constructed and sewer and utility lines were installed.
The property has been on the market for $8 million, but the town has it assessed for taxes at $30 million as 45 single waterfront lots. Town Assessor Kerry Leichtman said last month the property would be assessed significantly less next year if it becomes a single lot, but the specific amount will depend on several factors.
Planning Board member Tom Murphy praised the proposal to dissolve the subdivision.
“This is excellent. [The property] is going back to what it was,” he said.
Hanscom pointed out that the change from a 45-lot subdivision to a single family farm would reduce potential traffic increases on Warrenton Street and the intersection with Route 1. A single family owning the land also would have less of an environmental impact, he said.