Over much of the morning under a stand of trees in front of the county courthouse, Casterline did this three more times, as a large finance company outbid several developers on four parcels of foreclosed land totaling about 4,100 acres in the Dulles South section of the county. The former owner of the land was a well-know developer in Loudoun: Vienna-based Greenvest LC.
During the height of Loudoun’s building boom in the mid-2000s, when Loudoun rocketed to the top of the nation’s fasting growing counties list, Greenvest came forward with an ambitious plan to build 15,000 homes on a large swath of land just west of Dulles International Airport.
The development was supposed to be made up of four communities -- Greenfields, Lena, Broad Run Village and Arcola. It was also going to require a large network of schools, firehouses and libraries to support the tens of thousands people who would call the area home. Greenvest also set aside some of its land for a campus for George Mason University, which is still looking for property in Loudoun.
The enormous proposal drew much public outcry, as citizens packed meetings and public hearings denouncing unbridled growth and the promise of more clogged roads if the county approved Greenvest’s plans. Eventually, a majority of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors agreed, and rejected Greenvest’s proposal.
In 2008, Greenvest resurfaced in an effort to sell 100 of its acres to the county school system, which wanted the land for future schools. However, the board rejected this too, over concerns that the $20 million asking price was too high.
With no authority to move forward with its development vision, Greenvest eventually defaulted on its $130 million loan, which was held by iStar Financial, the company that bought the land on Tuesday.
Represented by a small cadre of attorneys, iStar spent $15 million on the 1,980-acre Greenfields site; $24 million on the 1,133-acre Broad Run Village site; $15 million on the 565-acre Arcola site; and $15 million on the 476-acre Lena site. All told, the New York-based company spent $69 million, well below the $91 million iStar was willing to pay, according to a report by the Center for Public Integrity. The land was reportedly worth about $165 million.
“This has to be the biggest [foreclosure sale] ever in Loudoun, at least in acreage,” said South Riding and Lansdowne developer Hobie Mitchell, who was on hand to watch the bidding take place.
About 75 people attended the Aug. 25 auction, including several elected leaders and a slew of developers -- some of whom were there to observe, while others were there to bargain shop.
“No comment,” said one man, who was outbid by iStar on three of the parcels.
Loudoun Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) said he had predicted the “bank” would buy the land. Asked if thought the former Greenvest property would be a good site for more public schools, he said, “We’ll see.”
Real estate developer Randolph Rouse, who already owns about 800 acres in Dulles South, bid on at least one of the parcels. He wanted the land because it would have linked with two of his other parcels, forming one large piece of property.
Rouse said iStar got a good deal on the 1,132-acre Broad Run Village parcel that he bid on. If ever developed, he said, the land would be “worth a lot more than what they paid for it today.”
Donning a straw hat with a wide brim, Rouse, who is approaching the century mark, said if he were younger, he probably would have made a more desirable bid. But, he added, he doesn’t have the time anymore to wait on land values to ripen.
“At 92,” he said, “I don’t buy green bananas.”
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