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Deal to buy land for schools rejected
Concerned the asking price was too high, the Board of Supervisors July 1 rejected a request by Loudoun's school system to buy 174 acres of land south of Leesburg for three future schools.The parcel in question is called the Rouse property, named for the owner of the land. It sits on the southwest corner of the Evergreen Mills and Red Hill roads intersection.
The school system, which wants to build a high school, middle school and elementary school on the site, had brokered a deal with the landowner to buy the property for $11.5 million.
"The price is too much. We're not comfortable with it," said Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge).
According to a memo by Burton, the county assessor said the land is worth only $5.7 million, about $4 million less than what a appraiser hired by the school system valued the land at. A "premium fee" bumped the asking price up to $11.5 million, according to comments made during Tuesday's board meeting.
With their vote, supervisors said they want the school system to go back to the landowner and renegotiate.
"Two out of three schools we need to build in the county are in the Ashburn-Dulles area," School Board Chairman Robert DuPree said about the decision. "It's going to make our job more difficult to negotiate and acquire land if we aren't able to close the deal."
School Board Vice Chairman John Stevens said not reaching a new deal on the Rouse property could mean "a future of overcrowding" in Loudoun schools.
"We need schools now," he said. "We needed that property now."
Staff writer Elizabeth Coe contributed to this report
I have to agree with the School Board on this one.
The Rouse site was a good one, basically in the Suburban Policy Zone (or right across Evergreen Mills Road from Brambleton) and would have housed three schools on a consolidated campus -K-12 all on one unified campus.
The price negotiatied by the School Board was a far better deal for the Loudoun taxpayers than was Mr. Burton's orchestrated above-market purchase of the Fields Farm site near Purcellville a few years ago.
The Loudoun County Public Schools know better than the Board of Supervisors how to buy land that really works for public school at fair prices.
In a few years when another A-3 grid subdivision is on the Rouse Property, we will all remember the Board's decision made today.
Posted by JAnderson
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174 acres for 3 schools seems like a lot more land than needed. Multilevel buildings would require far less space - lets start building schools like we were in a urban area. Shared athletic fields would also reduce the combine footprint.
Posted by JRG
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I want a 100% guarentee from everyone that this is not going to end up in court like the Purcellville site which is costing tax payers millions to "not resolve." Purchase it and then not get approval for whatever reason is insane and misuse of public funds. The school board and its staff should be able to provide a much better map then they have provided ... but that is part of plan to keep people guessing.
Posted by DandeWithTheWolf
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