Mezitt Land Sale

Developing story. More to follow:

615 Hopkinton Acres for sale

"The land is mostly owned by the family (Mezitts) and not the corporation (Weston Nurseries)" ~ Gary Furst, CEO Weston Nurseries

by Robert Falcione

February 10, 2005 — An offering which has apparently been known among real estate circles, but not publicized, came to light from a confidential source to HopNews today. The Mezitt family, which owns Weston Nurseries, is offering 5 parcels totaling 615 acres for sale, represented by Cushman & Wakefield, an agency with offices around the world. Bids are to be in by March 15, 2005. A representative of Cushman and Wakefield reached by telephone refused to comment for the record and asked not to be named.

The map on the left, prepared by Beals and Thomas, a Southboro engineering firm and available on the web, may be seen in an enlarged version (See the Map) where the parcels and landmarks are clearly defined. We have colored an approximation of East Main Street in red and Wilson Street in green. The red X approximates the Garden Center location.

According to Weston Nurseries CEO, Gary Furst, the land is owned by the Mezitt family, not the Corporation, Weston Nurseries.

"The land is part of a long-term Master Plan. Roger and Merylyn (Mezitt) would like to retire appropriately after working so long and hard," said Mr. Furst. "Beth and Wayne and Peter are looking to acquire Roger's stock to reinvest in the business," he said. Phone calls to both of the Mezitt brothers this afternoon have yet to be returned.

Roger Mezitt and Wayne Mezitt are sons of the late Ed Mezitt, who developed the PJM Rhododendron, a world renown full-blooming cross between an azalea and a rhododendron, and named it for his father, Peter J. Mezitt, who moved the nursery from Weston after land-taking for the building of the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Since the introduction of CEO Gary Furst, the company has moved from growing all of their stock on premises to shipping much of it in and selling it retail, taking advantage of their brand name, a name associated with quality nursery products throughout New England and beyond for decades.

Most of the land has been used for farming and is likely under Chapter 61A,. Under this law, agricultural and horticultural land is taxed differently than residential; and when an owner sells, he must offer it to the municipality, which then has 120 days to make an offer in a "right of first refusal."

The offering "Highlights" list some of the potential uses as "Large-Scale Residential development, Including Single-Family and Condominiums, Senior Housing and Rental Apartments."

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