Open Space Expansion In Part Of Gloucester County

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WOOLWICH TWP, NJ (CBS) -- Gloucester County has acquired two more pieces of open space for its ongoing preservation effort.

It was in Woolwich Township where the first piece of open space was preserved in 1989.

The latest addition to the county's 21,000 acres of protected lands are two parcels in the township.

One will keep homes off what is now, and always will be a farm. The other is being turned over to the township for recreational use, according to Deputy Mayor Frank Rizzi.

L-r: Woolwich Twp Deputy Mayor Frank Rizzi Gloucester County Freeholder Director Robert Damminger Gloco Freeholder Frank DiMarco -- Credit: David Madden

"We're actually looking at to possibly put soccer, lacrosse, field hockey fields in this section here," Rizzi told KYW Newsradio.

That property will conveniently connect with the Locke Avenue Park across High Hill Road extending into Swedesboro.

Gloucester County Freeholder Director Robert Damminger says it's amazing they're still protecting land here given the pressures of the open market.

"It ends up holding sprawl in a township that is probably the fastest growing township not only in Gloucester County or in the state of New Jersey but on the tri-state region of the east coast here," Damminger added.

Seventy homes could have gone up on those parcels in one of the fastest growing areas in the region. Now they'll be kept green for future generations to enjoy.