What’s the play at Cape Cod Sea Camps?

Part two: Three paths, each leading to a different result in terms of land use, environmental impact, public access, civic benefit, honoring tradition, speed of transaction -- and financial return

(In part one we learned that the Cape’s most iconic summer camp, sitting on probably the most significant private open space left on the peninsula, has shuttered. Former campers and counselors are scrambling to try to save it, with no encouragement from the owners, whose family ran camps on Cape Cod for three generations and almost 100 years. The big question now: What’s gonna happen?)

No one has worked longer or harder creating deals to protect open space in every town this side of the bridges than Mark Robinson, head of The Compact of Cape Cod Conservation Trusts.

“In 35 years,” he says, “I have never seen a property that has generated as much interest – outside interest, local interest, non-profits, foundations, the state, campers.”

Then he apologizes and won’t talk further about what might happen to the Cape Cod Sea Camps in Brewster, 55 acres coursing from Route 6A to Cape Cod Bay, another 70 narrow acres reaching inland to Long Pond, because he is under contract with the town of Brewster to explore public options and mum’s the word.

His caution is necessary, mirroring a low profile offered by the owners, the Delahanty family, not of necessity but by choice. The family closed the camp in November and has said almost nothing public since. Only a group of former counselors and campers has been forthcoming, creating the Brewster Flats Foundation in hopes of raising enough money to buy the property and keep it in the camping tradition.

After multiple conversations, looking hard at the history of major real estate transactions on Cape Cod, there are three diverging paths the Delahanty family can take, each leading to a different result in terms of land use, environmental impact, public access, honoring tradition, civic benefit, speed of transaction -- and financial return.

Sell to someone, or some company, with BIG money

There’s the venture capitalist you’ve never heard of or the glitzy name you have, a private buyer looking to create a unique island within a peninsula. This property qualifies at every level, and a mega-rich single buyer is a clean, faster transaction that avoids financing issues.

It also removes zoning and regulatory obstacles that would emerge with a plan to subdivide. Should the family opt for a private developer, whether for condos, single-family homes or a fancy resort, some of the most stringent review ever undertaken on Cape Cod would begin. The Cape Cod Commission, the Old King’s Highway Regional Historic District, town boards, all will have their say. An onsite septic treatment plant might be required. There is lowland and a pond on the bayside property that must avoided. The visual profile now presented on Route 6A likely will need to be protected. The inland side, long and narrow, is atop the town’s watershed. Addressing all of these challenges translates into time and money, but even so, it’s possible that a developer does the cost-benefit and decides to go for it – and writes the biggest check.

Sell to the public

Two arms of Brewster, public and quasi-public though private, probably will muscle up and reach for these properties.

First is the town itself, and the bayside 55 acres is where town hall would focus. Public sale would preclude development and environmental impacts, but even more attractive is the idea that the public could come into ownership of another 800 feet of beautiful bay beach, with enough land to offer public recreation plus what could become the town’s largest beach parking area. It might feel too much like Joni Mitchell’s old song about paving paradise and putting up a parking lot, but there is enough land there to hold onto some semblance of paradise and still accommodate cars (and create revenue). Such a purchase would fall squarely under the Community Preservation Act, which is funded by town tax dollars, and has a great chance of attracting additional state support. The town has a high card it could play: eminent domain, taking the property regardless of whether the Delahanty family wants to sell to the public – provided the price is deemed fair market value.

Meanwhile, the Brewster Conservation Trust, a robust non-profit that has worked hand-in-glove with town officials for decades, would likely be more interested in the parcel leading to Long Pond. The purchase price would be less, and protecting the land would in turn protect watershed and aquifer. The Trust has proven fundraising capacity from private donors as well as foundations and other non-profits.

The camp community’s new foundation

Plenty of big land deals see neighborhood groups trying to weigh in for all kinds of reasons, but in this case a large, wealthy, international community with strong emotional attachments to the summer camp creates a strong dynamic.

The Brewster Flats Foundation has expertise in camp management, a huge pool of potential support, and a passionate, romantic mission – save summer camping on Cape Cod.

That mission is focused on the bayside property, and might dovetail with the town’s vision insofar as both would stop big development or single ownership. But it’s also possible that the town’s (and Trust’s) ideas diverge from the camp alumni; supporting an exclusive, expensive summer of fun would not play well on Brewster town meeting floor. Leaders of the Brewster Flats Foundation know that, and talk about how they could build an inclusive experience, welcome campers and families who do not fit the old socioeconomic model, extend community use into the off-season.

Creative partnerships have often been created between the public and civic-spirited private non-profits, especially when the private side has money to bring to the table. Plenty of people call that a “win-win.”

The driver’s seat

It all comes down to what the Delahanty family wants to do. There has been no indication that the family is interested in discounting price or extending time of sale to help a camp survive, or gain public access. That is in contrast to a previous generation’s decision to sell a former campsite to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (probably at less than highest value) to add to Nickerson State Park.

The family’s representative, Jim Fleet from Phoenix Management Services, has experience managing transactions and transitions, working for a company with a diversified national footprint. That choice signals interest in the most profitable result, rather than conversations with town officials about the beauty of open space, or former campers wanting to teach kids life lessons while sailing on the bay.

Fleet did help organize a recent sale of “650 lots of history” and camp memorabilia, seeing intense interest in nostalgic items like plaques, trophies, signs. All proceeds were donated to charity, he reported, as the family works through their next steps. Brewster Flats Foundation directors hope more valuable assets that make camp possible, like dozens of sailboats, won’t be the next to go, which would remove crucial infrastructure needed for a camp to resurrect.

Fleet offered no insights, nor any idea when the properties will go on the market, saying only that rumors of an imminent listing are not correct. Has he had any conversations with public officials about the situation?

“There’s been no conversation with Brewster, land trust or selectmen.”

Would there be interest in selling the two properties separately?

“Less so from the family standpoint,” he said, “but it will be whatever it will be.”

One thing is certain: There will be no camp this summer. And here’s a good bet: We will know what this profound Cape Cod transformation will look like within six months.

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