WGXC-90.7 FM

Opus 40, Bard College looking to purchase Fite house

Sep 26, 2022 12:45 am

Paul Kirby is reporting for the Daily Freeman that Opus 40 and Bard College have united in an effort to purchase the Harvey Fite house located adjacent to the monument, located in the hamlet of Highwoods in Saugerties, in Ulster County, according to the president of Opus 40 Board of Directors. In a statement released on September 23, Jonathan Becker said, “I am pleased to say that we are working with Bard College to purchase the house owned by Pat and Tad Richards and bring it into the Opus 40 site to be developed as a visitor’s center, library, and site for educational programming.” The house is currently on the market listed for $1.5 million. According to Becker, the Richards family prefers to sell the house to Opus 40 and Bard College, but both organizations must raise funds to buy the property before another buyer steps in. Becker said, “We are hoping to raise $300,000 within the next month if possible, in order to acquire the house at the amount and on the timetable that works for the Richards." Opus 40 and Bard College hope that local philanthropists will help with the purchase, to "...transition the property into a year-round community resource, [a] hub of economic revitalization, and site of cultural and natural bounty,” Becker said. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.