- 4 -
Fairfax County, Virginia. The unimproved realty was situated in
a historical district in the general area of Mount Vernon, the
home of President George Washington, and adjacent to President
Washington’s Grist Mill (Grist Mill).
Acquisition of the Land for Development
Through several transactions, a 29.3-acre parcel was
conglomerated by petitioner and/or FAC. One transaction involved
the Future Farmers of America (FFA), which owned five lots within
this historical district. One of these lots approximated 5.9
acres and was the situs of the FFA’s office building. Although
the 5.9 acres was zoned for residential (classified as R-2), FFA
had a special use exception for its commercial office building.
But for the special use, the property was zoned residential. If
FFA sold the land and building, the special use would not
automatically pass to the new owner. The remaining four lots
acquired by petitioner were adjacent to the Grist Mill.
During his negotiations for the purchase of the FFA
property, petitioner’s written offer included his belief that the
highest and best use for the property was for either “commercial
or a combined commercial and residential (town homes)”.
Petitioner expressed the further belief that the highest and best
use would require rezoning for increased density, but that “the
realities of local politics will not allow the highest and best
use.” The developer of the acquired property would face several
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011