The American Horticultural Society board of directors has voted to decline a proposal submitted by NOVA Parks and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust to purchase the 27-acre River Farm property, AHS announced Monday afternoon.
AHS listed the property for sale so the proceeds could be used to further AHS’s national mission and programs and create a significant endowment to ensure its long-term financial future. But the sale of the historic property with a gorgeous view of the Potomac River has drawn sharp criticism from community members who are wary of development and argue the property should remain open to the public as it is now.
“We deeply appreciate the interest of NOVA Parks in River Farm and their proposal to purchase an option on the property, which if exercised, would involve payments to AHS over several years. We deliberated carefully over the proposal and its terms and concluded that their offer as currently written simply does not meet AHS’s needs. So, with thanks to them for their interest, the board declined the offer,” said AHS Board Chair Terry Hayes.
"AHS told us about this decision today," said Paul Gilbert, executive director of NOVA Parks. "We hope they are interested in finding solutions because River Farm would make such a wonderful public park. It has functioned as a park for the last 50 years, and the community is concerned that it could be sold for other purposes."
"We provided a proposal based on the market value of the property," he said. "Our proposal would have resulted in the property being conserved and open to the public. We are happy to continue a dialog and see if a deal can be reached."
Also reacting to the news was Alan Rowsome, executive director, Northern Virginia Conservation Trust: "It’s very disappointing that nearly two months have passed since we made our offer to purchase River Farm and finally receive a reply at the very moment the state assembly in Richmond approves $2 million towards that offer," he said. "There remains only one path forward to assure the future of River Farm as the public asset that it was always intended to be, and we will continue to work in good faith with the American Horticultural Society to achieve that outcome."
The sale is being handled by real estate agent Sue Goodhart of Compass Real Estate Group in Alexandria, VA.
The AHS Board is continuing to review and entertain offers for the property. Board Chair Terry Hayes reiterated that AHS’s strong preference is that the buyer of the property would maintain it for single use and not subdivide it and ideally continue to allow the public to access the property as much as possible.
The NOVA Parks offer would have accomplished that and the board did not provide a specific reason for declining the offer.
River Farm is listed for $32.9 million and is at 7931 E. Boulevard Dr. in Fairfax County. See the listing here.
