An 18th-century colonial mansion on a Virginia property that once belonged to George Washington has become the unlikely setting for a 21st-century mystery. Why, critics ask, would the American Horticultural Society consider selling a historic property on the Potomac River if it might end up as luxury housing?
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River Farm, the American Horticultural Society s headquarters, is located at 7931 E. Boulevard Drive. (Photo/Cody Mello-Klein)
The American Horticultural Society announced on Monday that it had declined an offer made by NOVA Parks and the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust to purchase the historic River Farm property, according to a news release.
The 27-acre property has served as the headquarters for AHS since the 1970s when philanthropist and AHS member Enid Haupt donated $1 million to help AHS purchase the property and keep it open the public. AHS put the property on the open real estate market in November, citing the financial strain of maintaining the property as the reason for the sale.
Proposed state funding in both the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate budgets could bring the Save River Farm campaign closer to the purchase and preservation of the historic River Farm, a 27-acre property once owned by George Washington.
On Feb. 10, Alexandria State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) and Mount Vernon Del. Paul Krizek (D) announced that proposed funding for the preservation project had advanced in both the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee budgets.
The House Appropriations Committee requested $2 million in direct funding for the preservation of River Farm, while in the Senate budget, $5 million in combined land conservation funds would go toward the preservation of both Chickahominy tribal land and River Farm. At least $2 million of the $5 million will go toward River Farm, though discussions are ongoing and legislators have to determine whether to take the funding route proposed by either the House or Senate, Ebbin said.
By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com Local nonprofit Northern Virginia Conservation Trust and regional parks organization NOVA Parks jointly
Fairfax County neighbors fighting to keep George Washington property public
Sale could privatize Washington mansion
Residents in a Fairfax County neighborhood are concerned that a looming sale might cost them access to River Farm.
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Neighbors are growing uneasy as a deadline approaches to sell historic Fairfax County property owned by George Washington.
The stately River Farm, which sits on the banks of the Potomac River, has welcomed the public for more than 50 years.
But now, people in the neighborhood are concerned that the 27 acres of riverfront property it sits on might be closed to the public permanently depending on who buys it.