Great Cape Tiny Village Finds New Owner After 52 Years

BREWSTER – On Jan. 17, David Schlesinger announced he had successfully contracted to purchase the 15-acre property known as Great Cape Tiny Village from owner Stephen Brown. 

 A portion of the land will be leased to serve as a cultural center and museum to honor the Cape’s Native people. 

“For over five decades, Stephen Brown was the steward of this land, and now [it] will peacefully change hands to Mountain to Sea Management, LLC,” said Schlesinger, a Brewster resident. 

“With a team of community-minded investors, the mission is clear: to preserve the property’s natural beauty, build community, and cultivate a thriving hub for local businesses and the townspeople for generations to come,” he said. 

Schlesinger expected the sale to be official by the end of the month. 

 The property is currently home to On The Trail E-Bike Rentals, which will be staying under Schlesinger’s ownership. Snowy Owl Coffee House will be leaving the property and finding a new home in Brewster. The new location has not been officially announced. 

With a soon-to-be-vacant building, Schlesinger is hoping to find new tenants to call the shop home. All interested parties are welcome to reach out, he said. 

Schlesinger announced that Nauset Indian Outreach and Preservation (NIOP) will be leasing three acres of land as a cultural center and museum to honor the Native people of the Mid, Lower, and Outer Cape. 

“As we speak, NIOP and friends are hand-building the first wigwam, wetu, Indian house to be built in 175 years in Brewster,” he wrote in an email. “Come spring, their goal is to have several structures finished and provide a unique opportunity to connect with the region’s rich indigenous history through educational tours and school field trips.”

In recent years, Fare and Just Kitchen and Great Cape Herbs also had a home on the land, but both have been permanently closed. 

 Brown has owned the land since 1972 and opened Great Cape Herbs in 1991. 

 In 2022, reports of unauthorized rentals and campers on the property led to a health department visit which deemed the dwellings unsanitary and found a list of other health and safety violations. According to the violation timeline summary, a call to the fire department prompted the investigation that slapped Brown with nine violations. The town issued a cease and desist order in April 2022, which shut the rentals down permanently.

 In the following months, notices and follow-up visits were conducted with no corrective actions taken. Brown was also alleged to have violated conservation laws, permitting requirements and zoning bylaws. In January 2023, a complaint of unlicensed chickens and roosters on the property was filed. 

 During the long-running dispute, potential fines piled up to almost $5 million. 

Brown put the two-lot parcel up for sale, listing it for $4 million with the stipulation that preserving the businesses and land be the main priority. Brown still adamantly blames the town for his need to sell.

 In an effort to keep the property in the hands of like-minded individuals, Brown worked with a group of local residents, including Schlesinger, who formed the Great Cape Co-op. Their mission was to raise enough funds to purchase the land and continue Brown’s stewardship. 

After two years, the co-op ended its financing campaign in 2024. According to their GoFundme page, they raised just over $11,000, far short of their goal of $3.5 million.

 While Brown still harbors resentment for the town’s actions, he is optimistic about Schlesinger’s ownership. 

“My beloved property is being sold to David Schlesinger at less than half the original asking price because I believe that he will care for it with as much love and respect as I gave it during my 52 years of stewardship,” Brown wrote in an email last week. “It is a very special land. And very much needed as a ‘sanctuary’ in these chaotic and traumatic times.”  

  Schlesinger, Brown and the town have been working closely to resolve the situation. 

A Chapter 61B tax break had been established for the eight-acre wetlands parcel while ownership remained in Brown’s name. Chapter 61B is centered on open space and recreation, reducing property taxes in exchange for providing a public benefit such as open space and recreation opportunities. It does not require active management. Last summer Brown removed the designation. 

If the use changes within a year of the Chapter 61B removal, the town gets the first right of refusal for the parcel, which complicated the sale for Schlesinger. On a phone call last week, Schlesinger said he would be writing an affidavit to the town reestablishing the designation on the eight-acre parcel. This would allow the sale to move forward without the town’s involvement. 

Schlesinger said he would be working with the town to craft a 15-year development plan, focusing on providing a small, sustainable community. 

In his newfound retirement, Brown said he will be writing a book following the events of the land from 2020 to 2024.