December 4, 2012      
     
It is an oasis in the heart of the city.
   
Mayor Karl Dean announces a plan to buy 600 acres of open land on the Stones River.
   
It's part of a larger effort to preserve land in Davidson County.

Lebanon Road has its share of  businesses, and traffic, but just North of the busy street is a pristine piece of land.

"West Nashville has Warner Parks, and that's what we want to do here," says Mayor Karl Dean.

Mayor Karl Dean is announcing a plan to purchase the Stones River Farm. It's a 600 acre property located on a bend in the Stones River in Donelson.

"I could say this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it is truly a once and forever opportunity," says Dean.

The Mayor hopes to convert the land into a large park, protecting it from development, and connecting the greenways, and other parks nearby.

"It has been kind of surreal because I never did think I would see it.  I never did think it would happen," says homeowner Gary Patton.

The Patton family has owned a home that overlooks the property since 1954.
  
The family worried the land would become an industrial park or even a landfill.
     
Gary Patton says his late parents always wanted it preserved.

"They wanted it to be where people could enjoy it, so this is going to be a wonderful day if it comes true," says Patton.

 This is just the latest land purchase effort.  Last year Metro bought the 132 acre Cornelia Fort Airpark, with plans to add it to the neighboring Shelby Bottoms Greenway.

Mayor Dean helped establish the city's Open Space Fund last year.  The goal is to preserve 3,000 acres of park land in the next ten years.

"It is a legacy we can leave for our grandchildren, and their children, and so on," says Mayor Dean.
 
Metro Council will have to approve the $8.2 million purchase of the land.
    
The city would use some of the $15 million dollars in its Open Space Fund.
   
Some of the money would also come from private donations.

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