|
CHAMBERLAIN LAKE 78.5 ACRES
This beautiful land is located at the corner of Rte 197 and Child Rd in Woodstock, CT. The total road frontage is 3,433 feet with about 750 feet on Rte 197 and the balance on Child Rd. The property features 3 distinct areas: The first is a gorgeous 14 acre stonewall bound field at the corner of Rte 197 and Child Rd that is ideal for horses, recreation, agriculture or housing. To the north is the wooded land along Child Rd that has about ¼ mile of shoreline along the lake. This land slopes from the road down to the water. The grade is somewhat significant but is drivable-buildable and developable. The grade is more gentle (level) down by the water. This wooded area runs north along Child Rd up to a lot that has been cleared for a house site. The cleared lot is one of 3 lots that is part of a 3 lot subdivision divided off this land about 15 years ago (I sold all of them). Those lots are plus or minus 2 acres each. One has a majestic log home that was built on it. One of the lots, 2.06 acres, is presently for sale for $157,500 and can be found on realtor.com. The reason for reference to these lots is the grade along the road is all pretty much the same and it gives one an idea how the wooded area would look if developed into lots. If one, rather than develop into lots, wished to build their own home site or a family compound in the privacy of the wooded shoreline area on the east side of the lake (homes would face west for beautiful sunsets), there would be no need to install a driveway down the hill off Child Rd because there is a right of way to the benefit of this property for road use that starts toward the back northwest section of the field and heads due north along the existing road that goes through the neighboring campground. It continues north directly to the old cart road into this land. This course is drivable now and there is an electric power pole installed on this property along the cart path. The third portion of this land is the lake and island. The assessor's office estimated the lake at 46 acres of which this property owns nearly 90% of. The campground owns the southern 4-5 acres and the dam. I sold this land with the campground and house in December 2005 for $1,500,000. At that time the dam was determined by DEP to be in excellent condition. The lake is about 6 feet deep. With a sandy beach at the campground it is swimmable and swimming activity by campers prevents vegetation from taking hold there. But because of the depth of the lake it does Lilly pad up in summer. This also contributes to the fantastic bass fishing. There are usually plenty of pictures of lunker bass at the campground store. This lake as well as other nearby lakes is part of a public drinking supply known as the Willimantic Watershed. These head waters feed Mansfield Hollow Dam further down state which is the water supply for the city of Willimantic. A small number of owners have rights to boat in the lake but no one has the right to build a dock or any other structure on the lake because it is owned by this property. This property has the right to charge a lease for any number of lake uses including dockage, harvestation of mollusks, cranberries, etc. Child Rd is a designated scenic town road that is gravel for a potion along the lake lined by enormous ancient sugar maples. This cannot be paved or widened without a public hearing of the road's property owners. You can find aerial photos of Chamberlain Lake and the area at www.glsweetnam.com. Under Woodstock, Child Rd is the 2nd from the bottom, Chamberlain Lake is 8th from the bottom and "the four lakes" (Lake Bunggee, Witches Woods Lake, Black Pond and Chamberlain Lake) are 18th from the bottom. Woodstock Subdivision and Zoning Requirements: Regulations often are modified so serious parties should always verify current regs. A building lot is allowed for every dry 2.5 acres of dry land and for every 100 feet of road frontage. Owners who wish to subdivide must also provide an Open Space development plan. This plan allows lots to be as small as .75 acre if 50% of the dry land is donated to conservation. The donation of land to open space can be waived if the owner prefers a "fee in lieu". This concept has become more common and popular in CT towns. It's like the developer is allowed to have maximum smaller lots provided they pay the town a bribe or extortion fee so the town can is able to buy more land for open space. This strategy has been successful in balancing development and the preservation of both ecosystems and aesthetic beauty which benefits property values and quality of life for all. While cul-de-sacs are common, there have also been multiple subdivisions approved allowing 5 lots off a common drive (such as 15 lots off of 3 common drives) that will remain private and not town maintained roads like a cul-de-sac. Woodstock zoning regulations are available on line. This unique appealing property is priced at approximately $5,700 per acre.
"Dr. Land"
P.S. On the aerial photos: |
