NORTHAMPTON – The city is poised to add an important piece to its mosaic of conservation land that will connect two of its most significant collections of open space.

The City Council this month gave preliminary approval to the purchase of 58 acres of land in the Saw Mill Hills area between Ryan and Chesterfield roads.

Owner Irene Szmanski has agreed to sell the land to Northampton for $232,864, or about $4,000 an acre. The purchase will add to the 661 acres the city has already preserved in the Saw Mill Hills.

As a bonus, the new parcel will provide access to Sylvester Road, on the other side of which lies the 471-acre Mineral Hills conservation area.

“It’s great,” said Northampton Planning Director Wayne Feiden. “Connecting Saw Mill Hills and Mineral Hills is important for walking and wildlife.”

Although they are heavily wooded and comprise streams and rock outcroppings, the Saw Mill Hills are not as steep as the Mineral Hills, which form the city’s border with Westhampton. There are trial heads to the Saw Mill Hills on Ryan Road and in the Avis Circle development, but the area is not heavily used. Feiden said there is no trial that currently goes all the way through the area, but there are plans to cut new trails.

In addition to providing a link to the Mineral Hills, the Saw Mill Hills conservation area extends all the way to Chesterfield Road, where the Roberts Hill conservation area picks up in Leeds. There are also non-contiguous parcels of the Saw Mill Hills that the city has preserved.

While Amherst has the Robert Frost Trail, which connects many of its conservation areas as it snakes the length of the town, Northampton has no connecting trail. Feiden said there has been talk of a half-moon-shaped trail that would go from Coles Meadow Road near Interstate 91 to Park Hill Road.

The council will take a second and final vote on the purchase at its next meeting in September. Feiden said the city plans to apply for a Community Preservation grant for about half the money. The rest will be raised privately, he said.