SOUTH BAY (BCN) -- The Peninsula Open Space Trust announced Monday that the Santa  Clara County Parks and Recreation Department is the new owner of San Jose's  966-acre Rancho San Vicente.

The Peninsula Open Space Trust bought the land from private  developers in June for $16 million and sold it for the same price on Friday.  Money from the donor-supported Parks Charter Fund was used to purchase the  land, spokeswoman Nina Nowak said.

Prior to the Peninsula Open Space Trust's acquisition, Rancho San  Vicente, located at the southern tip of Almaden Valley at the foot of the  Santa Cruz Mountains, had been considered for the construction of up to 900  residential units, an 18-hole golf course and 16 large private estates.

However, the Monterey-based New Cities Development Group decided  to instead sell the land to the Peninsula Open Space Trust for preservation.

Nowak said the property had been of high interest to the Santa  Clara County Parks and Recreation Department for its strategic location  between Almaden Quicksilver County Park and Calero County Park.

Rancho San Vicente will connect the two parks and possibly more  than 31,000 acres of surrounding open space and parkland, creating an  uninterrupted habitat for migrating wildlife.

The land preserves rare serpentine soils for wildflower displays  and is rich with natural resources, Nowak said.

Against a backdrop of dramatic mountain scenery, Rancho San  Vicente is like "stepping into an old California landscape," Nowak said.  "It's really an astonishing landscape."
      
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