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Toll Brothers digs in
June 4, 2004 1:10 am
Preservationists fought for more than two years to keep houses from going up on a chunk of land connected with the May 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.
That fight is over: Luxury homes will soon be built on hundreds of acres on the site along State Route 3.
But efforts to preserve part of the historically significant Civil War land continue.
Toll Brothers Inc. has opened a sales office on Spotswood Furnace Road to promote its Chancellorsville Hunt development on land it is buying from Spotsylvania County businessman John Mullins. Heavy equipment has begun cutting a road into the largely open swath of farmland west of Chancellor Elementary School.
Mullins said yesterday that Toll Brothers signed a contract to purchase 550 acres and has the right of first refusal on an additional 172 acres. That does not include 55 acres zoned for commercial use.
"Toll Brothers has been wonderful to work with," Mullins said.
The developer, which bills itself as the nation's largest luxury home builder, announced in March that it had purchased 30 home sites and that it eventually planned to build 225 homes on Mullins' property. The first section has been approved by the county. A second 32-lot section is still winding its way through the approval process.
As of this week, Toll Land X Limited Partnership had settled on 16 acres for $2.7 million, according to court records.
Mullins, who owns Covenant Funeral Service, has made several attempts to develop the 781 acres he bought in two adjoining tracts in 1995 for a total of $2.8 million.
In 1999, he withdrew a plan for a golf course, subdivision and office park. Last year, his plan to sell the land to a Northern Virginia developer who wanted to build a large mixed-use village called the Town of Chancellorsville fell through when the county refused to rezone the property for nearly 2,000 dwellings. That proposal drew a storm of protest from preservationists across the country.
The tract east of the Chancellorsville portion of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park was part of nearly three days of fighting in the spring of 1863. But some parts of the land are more historically significant than others.
For example, no fighting occurred on the first section of Chancellorsville Hunt. However, that land is within the Lick Run Element where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed after the battle.
Part of Mullins' land sits on acreage where first-day fighting occurred on May 1, 1863.
Jim Campi, spokesman for the Civil War Preservation Trust in Washington, D.C., said he hopes some of the most significant land could still be preserved.
He said there have been discussions with Toll Brothers, "and they seem anxious to work something out that allows some of the property to be protected."
The trust has said that at least 300 acres should be set aside.
"We would like to see the battlefield property to contain interpretive trails connected to the development," Campi said.
Another developer, Centex Homes, has done that with its Bristoe Village development in Prince William County. The company set aside 127 acres as a battlefield park, and agreed to build homes with 19th century styling, split-rail fence and buffer.
"Their marketing department is trying to connect the battlefield to the residential part of the property," Campi said. Confederates attacked retreating Union soldiers at the railroad embankment in October 1863.
Web Koschene, a Toll Brothers vice president said in March that the company is "committed to preserving and enhancing the natural beauty at Chancellorsville Hunt." So far, it has released no details about that part of the plan.
Spotsylvania Supervisor Bob Hagan, who represents the Courtland District where Chancellorsville Hunt is located, said Mullins has the right to develop his property under a 1999 rezoning.
He also said he has been in contact with Toll Brothers.
"They've given us an opportunity to talk to them about their plans and given consideration to alternatives that might preserve some of the first-day battlefields," Hagan said. "The project in and of itself is a plus for the county. They are a very reputable developer."
Chancellorsville Hunt will feature homes with "grand entrance foyers, gourmet kitchens and three-car side-entry garages" among other amenities, according to the company's Web site. Lots average 31/2 acres and house prices start at around $400,000.
Based in Huntington Valley, Pa., Toll Brothers has 40 residential communities in Virginia--in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Frederick counties. The company has also announced plans for Warrenton Chase, a luxury-home development in Fauquier County.
June 4, 2004 1:10 am
Preservationists fought for more than two years to keep houses from going up on a chunk of land connected with the May 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.
That fight is over: Luxury homes will soon be built on hundreds of acres on the site along State Route 3.
But efforts to preserve part of the historically significant Civil War land continue.
Toll Brothers Inc. has opened a sales office on Spotswood Furnace Road to promote its Chancellorsville Hunt development on land it is buying from Spotsylvania County businessman John Mullins. Heavy equipment has begun cutting a road into the largely open swath of farmland west of Chancellor Elementary School.
Mullins said yesterday that Toll Brothers signed a contract to purchase 550 acres and has the right of first refusal on an additional 172 acres. That does not include 55 acres zoned for commercial use.
"Toll Brothers has been wonderful to work with," Mullins said.
The developer, which bills itself as the nation's largest luxury home builder, announced in March that it had purchased 30 home sites and that it eventually planned to build 225 homes on Mullins' property. The first section has been approved by the county. A second 32-lot section is still winding its way through the approval process.
As of this week, Toll Land X Limited Partnership had settled on 16 acres for $2.7 million, according to court records.
Mullins, who owns Covenant Funeral Service, has made several attempts to develop the 781 acres he bought in two adjoining tracts in 1995 for a total of $2.8 million.
In 1999, he withdrew a plan for a golf course, subdivision and office park. Last year, his plan to sell the land to a Northern Virginia developer who wanted to build a large mixed-use village called the Town of Chancellorsville fell through when the county refused to rezone the property for nearly 2,000 dwellings. That proposal drew a storm of protest from preservationists across the country.
The tract east of the Chancellorsville portion of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park was part of nearly three days of fighting in the spring of 1863. But some parts of the land are more historically significant than others.
For example, no fighting occurred on the first section of Chancellorsville Hunt. However, that land is within the Lick Run Element where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee crossed after the battle.
Part of Mullins' land sits on acreage where first-day fighting occurred on May 1, 1863.
Jim Campi, spokesman for the Civil War Preservation Trust in Washington, D.C., said he hopes some of the most significant land could still be preserved.
He said there have been discussions with Toll Brothers, "and they seem anxious to work something out that allows some of the property to be protected."
The trust has said that at least 300 acres should be set aside.
"We would like to see the battlefield property to contain interpretive trails connected to the development," Campi said.
Another developer, Centex Homes, has done that with its Bristoe Village development in Prince William County. The company set aside 127 acres as a battlefield park, and agreed to build homes with 19th century styling, split-rail fence and buffer.
"Their marketing department is trying to connect the battlefield to the residential part of the property," Campi said. Confederates attacked retreating Union soldiers at the railroad embankment in October 1863.
Web Koschene, a Toll Brothers vice president said in March that the company is "committed to preserving and enhancing the natural beauty at Chancellorsville Hunt." So far, it has released no details about that part of the plan.
Spotsylvania Supervisor Bob Hagan, who represents the Courtland District where Chancellorsville Hunt is located, said Mullins has the right to develop his property under a 1999 rezoning.
He also said he has been in contact with Toll Brothers.
"They've given us an opportunity to talk to them about their plans and given consideration to alternatives that might preserve some of the first-day battlefields," Hagan said. "The project in and of itself is a plus for the county. They are a very reputable developer."
Chancellorsville Hunt will feature homes with "grand entrance foyers, gourmet kitchens and three-car side-entry garages" among other amenities, according to the company's Web site. Lots average 31/2 acres and house prices start at around $400,000.
Based in Huntington Valley, Pa., Toll Brothers has 40 residential communities in Virginia--in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Frederick counties. The company has also announced plans for Warrenton Chase, a luxury-home development in Fauquier County.