The effort to preserve Gould Hill Orchard as a working farm has expanded - literally.

The preservation plan, which would place the orchard under a conservation easement and manage it through a system of shareholders, now includes a 22-acre parcel on the west side of Gould Hill Road in Hopkinton. The project's organizers say the land is important to the project for financial and symbolic reasons: It includes the pick-your-own area of the orchard, the land that visitors are most familiar with and that commands the most dramatic views.

Previously, the land under discussion was limited to a 58-acre parcel on the east side of the road that includes the white farmhouse, sales barn, orchard land and woods.

"The vision we've been talking about depends on the west side land," said Susan Zankel, a member of Hopkinton's Open Space Committee. "The farm will be most valuable if you have both sides of the road."

The proposal to preserve the orchard is complex and will require two major purchases: One group would buy the orchard land, and another, with the help of the town, would buy development rights to ensure the land is kept as open space. Still to be resolved is whether the governing body that will run the orchard will be a nonprofit or for-profit organization. Sale prices for the land and the conservation easement also need to be settled. An appraisal of the orchard, which will help determine those prices, is expected to be finished soon.

The plan's organizers also need to begin raising the money that will help buy the orchard and arrange the fundraising necessary to purchase the easement. The purchase of the easement will likely include town money, which will require a special town meeting to gain approval.

Organizers are optimistic. Jim Zeppieri, who's helping coordinate the effort, said he hopes to have a signed purchase-and-sales agreement with Erick and Sue Leadbeater, the orchard's owners, by the end of the month and close the sale by the end of the year. He and other leaders of the preservation plan have met frequently in recent weeks to hatch a business plan and outline the terms of the easement.

"We have an ambitious schedule," Zeppieri said. "We have a sense of urgency because we can't expect the Leadbeaters to wait forever. But as far as I can tell, things are falling into place quite nicely."

Gould Hill's future had been uncertain for several years since the Leadbeaters decided to sell the orchard in 2003. The 80-acre property has been farmed since the late 1700s and has been owned by the Leadbeater family since 1939. Early efforts to preserve the land fell through after the Leadbeaters and the town's open space committee failed to reach an agreement. Frustrated, the Leadbeaters put the land on the market in September 2007 with an asking price of $2.2 million.

The current preservation proposal was organized by the Hopkinton Rotary Club earlier this year. Since a public forum in January, organizers have filled in many details about how the purchase and easement would be arranged. Long-term goals for the orchard include expanding the diversity of crops, cultivating organic produce and exploring the possibility of "agri-tourism," in which visitors could stay on the orchard to learn about agriculture and farming. Opening a bed-and-breakfast on the property could be part of the effort, organizers said.

"We're trying to think of all possible ways to bring in revenue to make the thing viable," Zeppieri said.

He hopes to have a deal in place by autumn so a plan can be presented to orchard visitors during the prime apple-picking season.

Much depends on the appraisal of the land now being completed. The last town appraisal was two years ago, and the eventual sales price of the land and the price of the development rights will be based on that updated appraisal.

Zeppieri said leaders of the preservation effort have spoken with several organizations, including the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, the Five Rivers Conservation Trust, the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, and Equity Trust, a farm-preservation group, to solicit help in raising money and writing a business plan.

One business model would be to raise money to purchase the orchard by selling shares and running the orchard as a limited liability corporation. The shares would be sold for $1,000 each, with the buyers limited to New Hampshire residents. The shareholders would elect a board of directors to run the orchard.

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