By Molly Lovell
Staff Writer

A property on Route 9 in Kennebunkport between Goose Rocks Beach and Cape Porpoise that has long been a stop for Sunday drivers, artists, and anyone else who enjoys a nice view will continue in that role for perpetuity.
The property belongs to Chuck and Susan Leahy, ages 74 and 65 respectively, and upon the couple’s death, it will be turned over to the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.
“It’s really a remarkable contribution,” said Tom Bradbury, conservation trust president.
The property is marked by a long, stone wall and a white gate. Sheep are often seen grazing on the hill.
It overlooks the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and Batson River and contains two buildings, a barn and the Leahy home, which was designed by a friend in 1988.
Forty acres of the property are already protected under a conservation easement that prohibits development.
The Leahys have life tenancy, which means they will pay associated bills and taxes on the property for as long as they live.
In addition, Susan Leahy said friends and part-time Goose Rocks Beach residents, Bob and Debbie King, have purchased a $1 million life insurance policy on the Leahys that will be paid to the trust when the couple dies.
“It will be used to endow the property, so expenses will not be a burden to the trust. We didn’t want the house to be an impediment to the trust, we wanted it to be an advantage,” Leahy said.
The trust hasn’t made any decisions regarding the property, Bradbury said, but there is interest in developing a center for life-long learning.
“We’ve got years to flesh it out,” he said.
Leahy said she and her husband don’t want to hamper the trust by offering suggestions, but they see the property as a place the entire community can share.
“It’s a nice place for people to enjoy a beautiful part of their own community,” she said.
Bradbury called the property an “incredible gift.”
“It’s so special, and they wanted others to share in its beauty,” he said.
The couple are New Hampshire residents and spend about a third of their time in Kennebunkport. The Leahys are both semi-retired attorneys, and purchased the property on Route 9 in the 1980s for $145,000. According to the town, the property, including all land, is valued at $455,000.
Both are from Concord, N.H. and Leahy said her ties to the Kennebunkport area go back to the 1960s, when she visited a college friend at home on Drakes Island, off the coast of Wells.
They have five grown children, who are supportive of their parents’ gift to the trust.
“I think they realize this house would not be something that they would be able to keep up, even on a shared basis,” Leahy said.
The family has enjoyed plenty of family events on the property, illustrated by the scenic back-drop of the wildlife refuge and the gardens Leahy tends to.
“The only thing they [the children] said when we told them what we were planning on doing, was would they let us come back here for weddings,” Leahy said with a laugh.
“I think that will be okay,” she added.

Molly Lovell can be contacted at 282-4337, ext. 223.