Compass Real Estate
The American Horticultural Society (AHS) announced Monday they are accepting offers for River Farm, the 27-acre riverfront property that went up for sale last fall along the banks of the Potomac River. The asking price is $32.9 million.
AHS "has officially begun receiving offers from prospective buyers interested in purchasing the nonprofit’s historic property. The pristine 27-acre River Farm was placed on the market in late 2020, with AHS setting January 4, 2021, as the date it would begin to receive offers from interested parties. No formal deadline for offer submissions has been established."
Terry Hayes, AHS Board chair, noted that “We have had great interest from a number of potential buyers and welcome all interested parties to submit their offers in the coming weeks.”
AHS has at least one offer in hand already: NOVA Parks, the regional parks authority for Northern Virginia, and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) together put in an offer Jan. 4.
The following day, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust announced it had made an offer, partnering with NOVA Parks: "Yesterday was the American Horticultural Society’s deadline to make offers to purchase River Farm, and Northern Virginia Conservation Trust partnered with NOVA Parks to jointly submit a fair and market rate value for the property," said Alan Rowsome, NVCT chair.
"Accepting this offer would allow AHS to move on from River Farm by April 1st and no longer be responsible for the expenses associated with managing the site," he said. "As the AHS board moves forward to assess the offers they have received, it is imperative that they put the future of River Farm first and ensure that it is protected and open to the public for all time."
The county has most recently assessed the property at just under $17 million. AHS hopes to sell the property in order to fund the society and its future.
NOVA Parks and NVCT have hopes of their own — to purchase the property to keep it open to the public, as it has been since 1973. The historic property was once owned by George Washington, who purchased the property in 1760.
"River Farm has functioned as a public park for the last 50 years," NOVA Parks Executive Director Paul Gilbert said. "In addition to the public gardens, it has trails, nature education and stunning views of the river."
"Ideally, the future uses would be similar to the past uses, as a garden, event space and nature education," he noted. "The house has been used as the office of a non-profit, and perhaps that kind of use could continue. It would be great if there could be more river access."
"The buildings on the property are also historic, and should be preserved," he said.
Meanwhile, the county is working on a historic overlay district. While that is not absolute protection, it would mean that any proposed changes would need to be approved by an architectural review group. Stronger protection would be to place a perpetual conservation easement on the property.
The proposal offered by NOVA Parks and NVCT was written in a way that any number of public park or conservation organizations could potentially operate River Farm from a local, regional, state or federal level, Gilbert noted.
"This is just to keep the door open to possibilities," he said. "We have had many government and non-profit groups with a common interest in helping with this effort. The goal is to see the land preserved and open to the public."
