The city of Sandy Springs announced a public-private land deal to acquire 24 acres of green space on the Chattahoochee River.

The property, valued at several million dollars, will be purchased with a combination of state and city funds and donations.

The biggest donor is the landowner, who is selling the homestead at a deep discount of less than $1 million. The landowner, who wishes to remain anonymous, will retain a life estate and continue living on the property in a craftsman-style bungalow even after the sale is finalized.

In a statement, Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos said, "Parks and greenspace are important to our citizens and good for the environment."

The land is just outside I-285 within 2,000 feet of the Chattahoochee River in southwest Sandy Springs. It is traversed by a feeder stream and includes native Georgian perennials and hardwoods, many of which are between 100 and 200 years old. The city plans to maintain trails and interpretive signage in the park.

The Trust for Public Land, a national land conservation nonprofit with a Georgia office, is actually buying the property and hopes to raise enough money to transfer it to the city by the end of the year. The state this week agreed to donate $250,000 through the Georgia Land Conservation Program and the city will pay half the total cost of approximately $800,000. That leaves a gap of roughly $150,000 that TPL and the Sandy Springs Conservancy have committed to raise.

Helen Tapp, TPL's Georgia director, said in a statement, "This pristine tract is significant for several reasons: Its sheer size in this urban area; its ability to illustrate how people lived in this area in the early 20th century; and the natural resource value of land that is being conserved for the community."