With the Gaisman estate off the table, the county turned its attention to the 364-acre Valhalla estate of the late John A. Hartford, who was president of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. The property, called Buena Vista Farm, was occupied by Yale University, which only used "a few of the acres", but which had a contract with the Hartford Foundation to use the land until 1972. Yale conducted forestry research at the site, and had a $500,000 geophysics laboratory located there. On June 28, 1957, the county board voted 37 to 3 to purchase the Hartford site. The county's contract with the Hartford Foundation specified that the land be used for "educational and charitable" purposes. Some county officials objected to the large site being used exclusively for the college. A compromise was reached to divide the land for use between the college and county recreation. Yale agreed to vacate its operations completely by August 31, 1958. The Hartford Foundation agreed to sell the property, valued in 1958 between $3,000,000-4,000,000, for only $750,000. The low price was offered to help lower the cost of tuition for students. With the land finally acquired and plans in place to relocate the college from the Battle Hill School to Valhalla by 1959, County Executive Hopkins vowed to expand the college into a 4-year school awarding bachelor's degrees.