Renss Greene Feb 16, 2023
Loudoun County Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) stands on land the county is hoping to buy for a new Western Loudoun Recreation Center on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. If the purchase goes through, it will connect more than 700 acres of publicly owned land from Sleeter Lake to Woodgrove High School.
Renss Greene/Loudoun Now
If the planned purchase of 143 acres just west of Purcellville for a new Western Loudoun Recreation Center goes through, it will tie together more than 700 acres of publicly owned land stretching from Round Hill to Purcellville, much of it parkland.
The swath of public land would begin just east of Sleeter Lake, where the Town of Round Hill owns 28 acres which hosts the 11-acre Sleeter Lake Park. The lake itself is about 100 acres and is privately owned by the Round Hill Owners Association, which prohibits swimming, wading, diving, and ice skating.
In 2019, the Board of Supervisors bought 106 acres next to the park, which created a contiguous connection to the 199-acre Franklin Park. And once the planned Purcellville to Franklin Park trail is complete, it will only be less than a mile’s walk or ride along West Main Street. to the new Western Loudoun Recreation Center land.
The rec center land reaches from West Main Street to Rt. 7. At the northeast edge of that property, the county plans to build a new interchange with Rt. 690—although that project faces some uncertainty awaiting a decision from the Town of Purcellville—and although that interchange is still in the design phase, it is the county’s practice to build pedestrian and shared-use connections into those kinds of road projects.
That would connect the rec center land to another 226 acres of county-owned land, which on the north side hosts Woodgrove High School and to the south is the site of plans—also facing roadblocks from the town—for the Fields Farm Park sports complex and Western Loudoun park-and-ride lot.
It amounts to just shy of 710 acres from the banks of Sleeter Lake to the Woodgrove High School stadium, counting smaller parcels such as 2.6 acres the county acquired toward those interchange plans, and four town-owned acres near Woodgrove High School where the Town of Purcellville plans a water tank and possibly its new police station. That doesn’t count the state-owned roads.
“It’s a big deal for western Loudoun, but it’s also a big deal for all of Loudoun County because it will be open to whoever wants to come out here and use it,” Supervisor Tony R. Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) said. “So it’s just one more great parks and recreation amenity that’s available to anybody in Loudoun County, and really folks outside Loudoun County as well.”
It’s also not the county’s only recent move to vastly expand its park land—in northwestern Loudoun, the county and its partners recently finished the years-long project to donate land to the state for the future Sweet Run State Park, around 884 acres.
“When we were looking at updating the comp plan during the last term, one of the biggest things we heard from folk who provided input into the process was that they wanted more parks and open space, recreation centers and things like that,” Buffington said.
Supervisors on Feb. 7 voted to buy the 143 acres for the Western Loudoun Recreation Center for $6.9 million from JK Moving founder Chuck Kuhn. The deal will go through a due diligence period, with closing likely set for the summer. The land, which includes both open space and farmland, is assessed at $1.8 million.
Renss Greene is the deputy editor of Loudoun Now. He primarily covers Loudoun County government.
(9) COMMENTS
Clamb
Clamb Feb 16, 2023 6:24pm
That’s a total of $21 million removed from the tax base….
Whynot
Whynot Feb 16, 2023 4:30pm
The County missed the boat on the current mini swim facility in Round Hill. The County missed the mark on the new Lovettsville Community which is too small and even though it is open is not finished. The County now wants to build another facility that will muck up traffic going to Round Hill from Purcellville. Not to mention the extremely poor planning of Field Farm use and traffic interchange at 690 and 7. What I like most is the Western County Supervisor dressing like a farmer suggesting what, this a good use of farm land?
westernloudounguy
westernloudounguy Feb 16, 2023 2:03pm
Does no one do any research before they post stuff? I have no idea what’s going on with the assessments, but it appears that the two LLC’S that own the land paid a total of $4,700,000 for this land in late 2019 and early 2020. No one is going to sell land for less than they paid for it. That aside, even at the price the County is paying, it’s less than 50k an acre. I think that’s actually a little below market for Western Loudoun. I know it’s less per acre than my property is assesed at.
Tadpole
Tadpole Feb 16, 2023 8:58pm
It’s not what they’re selling it for, it’s what we the tax payers are buying it for.
Chris Manthos
Chris Manthos Feb 16, 2023 10:18am
Nicely Done Renss. An informative story on land acquisition, and then drops the disgust bomb at the end.
Harrison Street has a long history of overpaying for things. It is why sharks like 50 Cent Chuck prey on them. The BoS, and past boards as well, don’t care — It’s not their money.
RJones
RJones Feb 16, 2023 9:59am
“Folks who provided input to the process”. Ok Buffington and others on the Bozos of Supervisors, what was the citizens head count on “needed swim facility”?
LCCommonSense
LCCommonSense Feb 16, 2023 9:53am
Let’s hope that there is a valid reason for the County to pay $5,000,000 over the assessed value for a piece of land. Every taxpayer in Loudoun County deserves to know that reason.
Ohneiser – Attorney – At – Law
Ohneiser – Attorney – At – Law Feb 16, 2023 8:50am
Pay $6.8 for what is assessed for $5 million LESS??? Are homeowners in Ashburn for example paying tax on full market value or getting a discount like wealthy land owners get? Can we smell the campaign donations?
Tadpole
Tadpole Feb 16, 2023 7:16am
The minute I see the Board and Kuhn doing business together I cringe. I guess the union that openly bragged about bribing some Board members just has to wait their turn behind those that did it before them.