|
|
Other builders interested in Stafford peninsula
It appears that Toll Brothers Inc., the nation's largest luxury-home builder, won't develop Crow's Nest after all.
The Pennsylvania-based firm has an agreement to purchase the 3,800-acre tract in eastern Stafford County. But Clark Leming, attorney for the landowner, K&M Properties of McLean, says that option will soon expire.
Leming declined to say yesterday what shelved the deal. "What I can tell you is that it appears the contractwill not proceed. I can also say that K&M is in the process of considering other offers."
A Toll Brothers spokeswoman in Northern Virginia was unavailable yesterday for comment. Toll Brothers has one Fredericksburg-area development under way: Chancellorsville Hunt off Spotswood Furnace Road in Spotsylvania County.
Leming declined to say how much K&M is now asking for Crow's Nest, but sources familiar with the discussions said that it is approximately $50 million. That's significantly more than the $30 million K&M was asking last fall in negotiations with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to purchase the land as a state natural area.
When those negotiations fell through, K&M put the property back on the market and Toll Brothers signed an option this spring.
Leming said K&M has a responsibility to its investors to get the best price for the land. The company paid $17.8 million for it in 1989. "In today's dollars, it's [worth] a lot more than that," he said.
Leming said K&M has two goals: to make a profit, "and hopefully to preserve part of the land."
He said the other prospective buyers, whom he identified only as "national builders," all want to develop the waterfront tract.
Crow's Nest has become a rallying cry for preservationists who want to see the land between Potomac and Accokeek creeks stay undeveloped. The property includes dense virgin forest, some rare plants and animals, Civil War-era sites and a Daniel family cemetery. The land is named after The Crow, a black, three-masted schooner moored off the shoreline during the 1800s.
David Croteau, a member of Save Crow's Nest, said yesterday that Toll Brothers' exit won't change anything, and might present an opportunity.
"Selling Crow's Nest for development is bad for the region's residents and taxpayers. The apparent collapse of the pending sale provides a window of opportunity for the county to act to save the entire peninsula. We're unlikely to get this chance again," Croteau said.
Leming said discussions have been ongoing with county officials, who are also exploring ways to preserve the land. However, he said that it is unlikely the landowner would be willing to sell to the county, though the company would consider development scenarios that would include preservation elements.
Leming said there are three options: developing the land under the existing zoning, which would allow about 1,400 lots spread over the entire tract; a cluster development--requiring rezoning--which would concentrate houses on less environmentally sensitive portions of the land while conveying half the tract to the county for preservation; or developing the land based on a 1971 rezoning that would have allowed a large, mixed-use development.
That rezoning was overturned by the Board of Supervisors in 1978. Leming contends the 1971 rezoning is vested, and he has appealed two recent rulings upholding the board's downzoning.
Meanwhile, the county continues to look for ways to buy the property.
County Administrator Steve Crosby said Stafford could apply for a low-interest loan through the Virginia Resources Authority to buy Crow's Nest. The county could apply for up to $30 million.
The authority makes loans to local governments for infrastructure projects. Pooled funds are also available for other, conservation-related projects, Crosby said.
"There is no guarantee that anything would be there," Crosby said, "but we've been led to believe there probably would be." Stafford could also sell bonds through the authority.
While the board has authorized the application, there's been no commitment to spend any money, Crosby said.
In another tack, the board is considering a local general-obligation bond issue to raise money for purchasing the property. The board will discuss sending a request to the Circuit Court at its Aug. 17 meeting.
That must be done by Labor Day to meet deadlines to have the bond referendum on the November ballot.
Staff Writer Ruth Finch contributed to this report.
To reach RUSTY DENNEN: 540/374-5431 rdennen@freelancestar.com