by Dakota Antelman | September 26, 2025 | The Concord Bridge

 

Nearly 60 acres of trees and wetlands—along with a busted-up car—are up for grabs in West Concord.

 

 

So far, the owners can’t find a taker, so they might try their luck at auction. 

 

 

Real estate consultant Keith Gurtler thinks the Pond Lane tract, listed for $3.1 million and set behind Damonmill Square in West Concord, is a prime location for housing, trails, and other municipal uses. 

 

 

Town officials aren’t so sure.

 

 

“It’s not quite as sexy as the prison,” Gurtler told The Concord Bridge, referencing the shuttered MCI-Concord lockup, “but it’s a big chunk of land that would be very useful.” 

 

 

Of the 58.5 acres, Gurtler said, site restrictions would probably confine residential development to just eight acres close to the MBTA train tracks. Much of the property is a protected wetland along the Assabet River. 

 

 

Gurtler, who represents the owners, said the site has been on and off the market for three years. While they publicly discuss high-profile parcels like the prison, town officials have held multiple closed-door meetings about this land, whose address is the enigmatic 0 Pond Lane.

 

 

Gurtler maintains that this is “an amazing asset that’s available.” Private developers are still wary and share some of the town’s concerns.

 

 

A car zips past Damonmill Square in West Concord. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Concord Bridge

Topography and access

A 2013 appraisal said the town has a right of first refusal and can match other buyers’ offers due to 0 Pond Lane’s status as “nature land.” The appraisal noted that “the town has been active in purchasing conservation land over the years.” 

 

 

Deputy Town Manager Megan Zammuto said staff visited in 2024. She said the site’s size makes it a “significant property.” It still has downsides, and Town Manager Kerry Lafleur said last week that “at this point in time” the town doesn’t plan to make an offer. 

The developable area includes a steep slope. Because there’s no vehicle access, a builder would have to install a new driveway off the end of Pond Lane. 

 

 

Gurtler said adding 600 feet of pavement could open the door to six single-family homes. A developer would still need town approval. 

 

 

Records show the Pond Lane property owners ran into legal questions when they asked about zoning in 2001. Gurtler says they now have the answers, and he asserts that a 1981 decision by the defunct Middlesex County Commissioners to formally abandon Pond Lane as a public way doesn’t preclude development.

 

 

Providence Bruins owner H. Larue Renfroe owns land around Pond Lane. The Bridge called Renfroe for comment but didn’t hear back.

 

 

An aerial view shows wooded land at 0 Pond Lane between the Assabet River and MBTA train tracks. Image courtesy O’Brien Commercial Properties

Undeveloped land at 0 Pond Lane is located between the Assabet River and the MBTA tracks in West Concord. Graphic: Kim Carpenter/The Concord Bridge

 

A ‘unique situation’

Gurtler said his clients own their land via a family trust. He said members of the Rappoli family remember playing in the woods and fishing in the river as children. 

 

 

Communicating through Gurtler, one owner declined to speak to The Bridge. 

The woods still show signs of human activity, including trails and a damaged old car. There’s a decaying snowmobile a few yards off one trail. Debris—including a mattress—litters a corner of the property. 

 

 

A crashed quadcopter drone crunched underfoot as Gurtler walked the site with a reporter. The abandoned car might be a Chrysler Plymouth, he said, but “I could be wrong.”

 

 

Gurtler said the property has been under agreement with at least two buyers.

 

 

One deal crumbled because the buyer couldn’t find financing. The other collapsed over limits on the number of housing units. Large developers are interested in 100- to 200-unit projects, Gurtler said. Despite its size, he said, the Pond Lane site “doesn’t really support” those proposals. 

 

 

Among other West Concord projects, crews have started work on a development off Old Marlboro Road that will net five affordable units alongside six acres of open space. The plan is a five-way partnership among town groups and outside organizations. 

 

 

Gurtler sees the Pond Lane land as a candidate for a similar project. Beyond housing and trails, he says, this property could provide water for Concord’s Knox Trail bus depot.

 

 

Gurtler said the cost has probably fallen from the initial asking price and that the land could ultimately trade for less than $3 million.

 

 

“There’s certainly a need for affordable housing in Concord,” he said.

 

 

A recent prison redevelopment report said nearly half of renters and a quarter of homeowners spent more than 30% of their income on housing in 2022.

 

 

A trashed car lies abandoned in the woods at 0 Pond Lane. Photo: Dakota Antelman/The Concord Bridge

Developer perspectives

 

 

Dan Gainsboro, whose firm Now Communities worked on the Concord Millrun and Concord Riverwalk developments, knows the Pond Lane site. He said he “spent some time exploring its feasibility.” 

 

 

“I had a hard time coming up with a development plan that worked for our model,” he told The Bridge in an email.

 

 

Fellow developer John Boynton said buildable quarter-acre lots in West Concord have been selling for between $500,000 and $1 million. With six lots at 0 Pond Lane, he said a $3 million price tag “would be reasonable”—but for the lack of access and utilities. 

 

 

Gurtler suggested builders could bring utilities onto the property along the MBTA train tracks. Town Planner Elizabeth Hughes said the site is ineligible for town sewer service, so any development would need on-site sewage disposal.

 

 

Select Board member Paul Boehm, who lives nearby, said he didn’t know until recently that the property existed.

 

 

“The community always wants open space,” he said. At this site, he agreed, “the access is tough.”

 

 

Gurtler said the owners were “looking at all options” as of last week. The team has been in touch with a company to manage an auction—to be held as soon as next month—if they can’t make a standard sale.

 

 

‘An auction is final’

On an outcrop near the Assabet, Gurtler talked up the property. He recently said “several people” were looking at the land and opened the door to any number of arrangements.

 

 

The town could buy the plot. Another organization could step in with help from donors. A developer could acquire the land independently or work with the town. 

 

 

As neighbors see the about tree clearing for a 20-lot subdivision on Main Street in West Concord, Gurtler said a buyer could also open their wallet to preserve this plot—including the developable land—as rolling wooded space. 

 

 

Concordian Patty Keane, for one, said she sees a need for more trails in the area. Her most frequent nearby walking destination is the 21-acre West Concord Park off Conant Street. The park was once known as the Pigeon Hill Lot. The town added a short trail system in 2014. 

 

 

Housing Authority Chair Stephan Bader said Concord needs a greater variety of housing, including affordable places to live. “Whatever gets us in that direction, I think, is a good thing,” he said. 

 

 

As 0 Pond Lane tips toward auction, Gurtler is still trying to drum up support. 

 

 

“An auction is final,” he said. “Once it trades at auction, we don’t have an opportunity to go back and say, ‘Well, this is what they want to do.’”

 

 

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