Original Reporting: Essential, Insightful, Enlightening

American Horticultural Society Selling River Farm HQ, Though Not Without Controversy

By Grant Broadhurst

A historic farm, a nearly century-old horticultural association, a sale – what's the big deal? Once part of George ’s farmlands, the 27-acre River Farm overlooks the Potomac River. For almost 50 years it has been the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society (AHS), which was founded in nearby Alexandria, , in 1922. Anchored by an 18th- century manor, the River Farm been open to the public and served as a public space available for events. That may soon all change – and not without controversy – even though it might be bought by the northern Virginia parks system. The AHS placed the property on the market in late 2020 listing it at $32.9 million. The society began accepting offers on January 4. The AHS said it's selling the River Farm to set up an endowment for the association’s long-term survival as well as pay current expenses, given negative impacts from the pandemic. According to the AHS, with the money raised from the sale, the nonprofit will be able to “continue indefinitely.” But the long-term survival of AHS was not necessarily the impetus for the sale, considering just months before putting it on the market, AHS considered selling River Farm to facilitate a merger with an another association. Back in September 2020, the AHS announced it had a board committee exploring the possibility of merging AHS with the American Public Gardens Association to ensure its survival for the next 100 years. To accomplish that, the plan was to sell River Farm. But AHS was actually in better financial shape than APGA in mid-2020. According to AHS's 990 Form for the fiscal year ending June 2020, AHS had more than $4.4 million in net assets and more than $1.2 million cash, savings, and temporary cash investments. That dwarfed APGA. According to APGA's 990 Form for the fiscal year ending February 2020, APGA had less than $266,000 in net assets and only about $282,000 in cash, savings, and temporary cash investments. While AHS's financial situation improved during that fiscal year, APGA's financial situation declined.

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In October 2020, AHS announced it had decided to not go forward with the merger saying they “greatly desire to find a solution that allows our mission – and the AHS name – to live on in the future with an increased national presence.” The AHS's long ago acquisition of River Farm was made possible by a $1 million donation from Enid Haupt, a former AHS Board Member and philanthropist. According to the AHS, she wanted the public to have free public access, which has been the case for almost half a century. However, the AHS said it has located no actual written obligations regarding Haupt's requests. The AHS has repeatedly said their "strong preference" is for the property remain single-use and publically accessible rather than being subdivided. The sale has divided the ten-member AHS board. In late April, five members – Laura Dowling, Tim Conlon, Skipp Calvert, Holly Shimizu, and Marcia Zech released a statement saying they had been trying to get other board members to “reverse course” but have been asked to be silent amid the sale. But they said that there is “growing evidence” the sale is “not only morally and ethically wrong, but is fraught with serious legal issues.” The dissenting board members said: “We want the supporters of AHS and the public in general to know that we have opposed and continue to oppose the sale of River Farm. We believe AHS can and should continue to steward the property in accordance with the public promises made by the Society for nearly 50 years, and we will continue to do all in our power to accomplish that purpose.” On March 1, the AHS announced that they had declined an offer from NOVA Parks, the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust, and other partners to buy an option on the River Farm that would have involved payments over several years. The AHS said they would consider a different proposal from NOVA Parks. In May, AHS entered more talks with NOVA Parks about a possible sale with backing from the State of Virginia, according to the Washington Post. However, the property is still listed for sale with The Goodhart Group, an Alexandria-based real estate firm. AHS, including Interim Executive Director Bob Brackman, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

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