The long-awaited and even longer negotiated purchase of a major portion of the Overlook property on the shores of the Great Salt Pond has finally been completed.In anticipation of the closing of the Overlook purchase on March 15, members of the Block Island Land Trust did a little daydreaming at their meeting on Thursday, March 8.The purchase of the property that sits between the Salt Pond Settlement condominiums and Champlin’s Marina from Steve Filippi, does not include the existing Overlook building, which mainly houses employees for Ballard’s Beach Resort. The six-acre property was recently subdivided into two parcels, with about 1.5 acres being retained by Filippi, and 4.5 acres being purchased by the Town of New Shoreham and the Block Island Land Trust, which hasa conservation easement over the property. The new property line runs parallel to the building and through the existing parking lot.
The deal has not been without controversy. It was kept secret up to about two weeks before the annual 2021 Financial Town Meeting in which voters were asked to fund the town’s $4.5 million share of the at-then purchase price of $10 million. (Since then, and based on appraisals, the price has come
