City and state officials and local legislators took part in an event Monday celebrating the city’s acquisition of Whispering Hill Woods, a 74.5-acre site west of Cambridge Road. On Tuesday, the city was set to close on the purchase of the land from Northeastern University for $6.7 million. The state’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs recently awarded $500,000 from the federal Water and Land Conservation Fund program to help the city purchase the land, which will be reserved for park and recreation purposes. City officials noted that the combination of the Whispering Hill Woods property and surrounding land already protected from development provides for 300 acres of open space, making it one of the largest protected land areas inside Route 128.
— John Laidler 
