The City of Brighton buys over 40 acres of green space from a church.

The prairie was once farmland and for decades was undeveloped under Faith Church ownership.

It’s a place Brighton Supervisor Bill Moehle describes as vital wildlife habitat.

“I was out there today looking at the land,” Moehle said. “You can see the hawks, you can see the deer.”

On Tuesday, the city and Faith Church announced they had reached an agreement for the city to purchase the 44 acres near Winton and Westfall Roads for approximately $1.8 million.

“It’s really an opportunity to, you know, preserve that kind of open space,” Moehle said.

The city projects that the additional cost for a taxpayer who owns a home worth $200,000 will be less than $7 per year.

It remains one of the only undeveloped properties in Brighton. Moehle says that while it won’t be used for commercial development, residents will have the opportunity to share their feedback on what to do with it.

“It’s an important piece of land, we’ve heard from people for many years, they would like it to be preserved. And that’s the day we can say, ‘yes, that’s what we’re going to do, it’s going to be municipal land,’” he said.

The city had made several attempts to buy the land several years earlier, including initiating proceedings for eminent domain, which ended up in court. Both parties settled and Brighton were able to buy part of it.

In a statement, Pastor Steve Edlin of Faith Church said the sale of the land allows the church to “better serve its members and expand its reach of service in the community.”

“Today’s sale is a step in a new direction for our church and for whom we serve,” Edlin said. “We are delighted to see Supervisor Moehle and the Council’s vision come to life with the addition of this property, and we will continue to pray for their wisdom and for the benefit of all Brighton residents.”