Arrahatteck sold, Chatsworth drops to $19M

Arrahatteck's 12-sided home was built in 1989.

Arrahatteck’s 12-sided home was built in 1989.

As more riverfront land in eastern Henrico hits the market, a secluded woodland property near the end of Osborne Turnpike has secured a new owner after a reduction in price.

The 158-acre Arrahatteck property at 9900 Arrahatteck Trail sold Feb. 1 for $835,000. The property was re-listed last September at $895,000 after its original asking price of $1.4 million failed to find a buyer.

Named for an American Indian tribe that once inhabited the site, Arrahatteck was put up for sale by Nelda Snyder, who has lived at the property most of her life. She grew up in one of two century-old log cabins that are located on the site, and she has lived in the property’s 12-sided house since she and her late husband, Harold “Buz” Snyder Jr., had it built in 1989.

The property was sold by Re/Max Commonwealth broker Tom Innes and co-listing agent Stanton Thalhimer. Innes declined to discuss the sale or the buyer, whose name had not been added to online Henrico property records as of Wednesday.

Re/Max picked up the listing last summer after it was initially put on the market in late 2014 by The Steele Group | Sotheby’s International Realty. Matt Rader co-listed the property with fellow Steele Group agent Darnley Adamson.

In an interview last year, Snyder said she was selling the property before moving into an assisted living facility. A message left for Snyder this week was not returned.

Of the property’s 158 acres, 108 are set aside in a conservation easement, which Snyder expected would preserve the remaining 50 acres as a residential property. Rader had said the property’s proximity to that easement and to nearby power lines and Fort Brady Battlefield Park would make developing the 50 acres unrealistic.

“We couldn’t stand seeing all of the land just disappear,” Snyder said last year. “The thought of it being ripped up, with a house on this hill and that hill and the other – it was more important to save it than anything else.”

chatsworth aerial

An aerial of Chatsworth, which has the potential for development, industrial uses or to stay as is. Courtesy Susie Blanton.

Farther north along Osborne Turnpike, a similar sentiment is shared for another riverfront property that hit the market late last year and has since come down in price.

The sprawling Chatsworth property at 6710, 6720 and 6800 Osborne Turnpike was listed last November for $23.8 million. The 477-acre property just south of neighboring Tree Hill Farm, which is slated for a massive mixed-use development, has since been reduced to $19.05 million.

Ross Thomas, a son of Chatsworth owner Anne Vail Thomas, said the price drop was due not to a lack of inquiries, but rather to those inquirers seeking a price that was below the $20 million mark.

“The right person hasn’t come around yet, but they’re bubbling up,” Ross Thomas said.

“I feel it’s worth more, but with the current market situation, a lot of people wanted it under $20 million. You’ve got to be able to make some room to make something like this work, but we’re not going to be giving up something this big on the river. We feel this is probably one of the premiere properties on the East Coast.”

Thomas noted the property includes about 200 acres of active farmland, 280 acres of mature hardwood forests, nearly one mile of deep-water frontage along the river, and tons of rock and potential for mining. The property also includes a two-story brick colonial house and an adjacent cottage.

While those features could prove attractive to a developer or industrial buyer, Thomas said he hopes to see Chatsworth remain a rural retreat, as his family has used it as since his grandfather, William Vail, acquired it in a land swap.

chatsworthguy

Ross Thomas out at Chatsworth

“I don’t want to tell people what to do with their money, but wouldn’t it be nice for somebody to buy it and keep it as we have – as a large, nice piece of property where you can get away from the rest of society but you’re still four minutes from Richmond?”

The Vail family used to own Southern Fuel Oils, which they sold in the late 1970s, Thomas said. He said the family acquired Chatsworth through a trade of the company’s terminal property on Commerce Road, on the opposite side of the river.

Thomas, who owns dumpster rental company Dominion Site Services, said the family has considered selling the property over the years and has received numerous inquiries from potential buyers – one from as far away as Canada, he said. They’ve turned down requests to locate wireless communications towers at Chatsworth, and they’ve long worked with Hanover-based Engel Family Farms, which continues to farm the property.

Thomas said the timing of the listing is due in part to his mother getting older, planning regarding family estate taxes, and the development planned at Tree Hill Farm, a 531-acre property between Chatsworth and Rocketts Landing.

That property was approved in 2007 for 2,770 residential units, including single-family homes, townhomes, condos and apartments; 1.16 million square feet of office and commercial space; and 250 acres of open space and parkland.

Gray Land and Development Co., the land development affiliate of Richmond-based GrayCo., purchased Tree Hill in 2006 for $13.3 million. Grayco executive Russell Aaronson III has said the company remains committed to the project but is waiting for the market to recover before going forward.

Chatsworth is listed by Susie Blanton of Long & Foster. Its two parcels were most recently assessed by Henrico County at a combined value of $8.6 million, with a total land use value of $863,800. The latter value is set for tax purposes after a break from the county’s land use program.

And Chatsworth isn’t the only significant acreage for sale south of Rocketts Landing. Other riverfront properties on the market include a nearly 50-acre tract at 1521 Cedar Crest Lane, listed for $1.7 million; a nearly 5,000-square-foot home on 31 acres at 9860 Osborne Landing is listed for $1.69 million; and 25 acres at 8680 Osborne Turnpike is for sale for $700,000.

Update: This story has been revised to clarify comments made by one of the agents involved in the listing. 

Arrahatteck's 12-sided home was built in 1989.

Arrahatteck’s 12-sided home was built in 1989.

As more riverfront land in eastern Henrico hits the market, a secluded woodland property near the end of Osborne Turnpike has secured a new owner after a reduction in price.

The 158-acre Arrahatteck property at 9900 Arrahatteck Trail sold Feb. 1 for $835,000. The property was re-listed last September at $895,000 after its original asking price of $1.4 million failed to find a buyer.

Named for an American Indian tribe that once inhabited the site, Arrahatteck was put up for sale by Nelda Snyder, who has lived at the property most of her life. She grew up in one of two century-old log cabins that are located on the site, and she has lived in the property’s 12-sided house since she and her late husband, Harold “Buz” Snyder Jr., had it built in 1989.

The property was sold by Re/Max Commonwealth broker Tom Innes and co-listing agent Stanton Thalhimer. Innes declined to discuss the sale or the buyer, whose name had not been added to online Henrico property records as of Wednesday.

Re/Max picked up the listing last summer after it was initially put on the market in late 2014 by The Steele Group | Sotheby’s International Realty. Matt Rader co-listed the property with fellow Steele Group agent Darnley Adamson.

In an interview last year, Snyder said she was selling the property before moving into an assisted living facility. A message left for Snyder this week was not returned.

Of the property’s 158 acres, 108 are set aside in a conservation easement, which Snyder expected would preserve the remaining 50 acres as a residential property. Rader had said the property’s proximity to that easement and to nearby power lines and Fort Brady Battlefield Park would make developing the 50 acres unrealistic.

“We couldn’t stand seeing all of the land just disappear,” Snyder said last year. “The thought of it being ripped up, with a house on this hill and that hill and the other – it was more important to save it than anything else.”

chatsworth aerial

An aerial of Chatsworth, which has the potential for development, industrial uses or to stay as is. Courtesy Susie Blanton.

Farther north along Osborne Turnpike, a similar sentiment is shared for another riverfront property that hit the market late last year and has since come down in price.

The sprawling Chatsworth property at 6710, 6720 and 6800 Osborne Turnpike was listed last November for $23.8 million. The 477-acre property just south of neighboring Tree Hill Farm, which is slated for a massive mixed-use development, has since been reduced to $19.05 million.

Ross Thomas, a son of Chatsworth owner Anne Vail Thomas, said the price drop was due not to a lack of inquiries, but rather to those inquirers seeking a price that was below the $20 million mark.

“The right person hasn’t come around yet, but they’re bubbling up,” Ross Thomas said.

“I feel it’s worth more, but with the current market situation, a lot of people wanted it under $20 million. You’ve got to be able to make some room to make something like this work, but we’re not going to be giving up something this big on the river. We feel this is probably one of the premiere properties on the East Coast.”

Thomas noted the property includes about 200 acres of active farmland, 280 acres of mature hardwood forests, nearly one mile of deep-water frontage along the river, and tons of rock and potential for mining. The property also includes a two-story brick colonial house and an adjacent cottage.

While those features could prove attractive to a developer or industrial buyer, Thomas said he hopes to see Chatsworth remain a rural retreat, as his family has used it as since his grandfather, William Vail, acquired it in a land swap.

chatsworthguy

Ross Thomas out at Chatsworth

“I don’t want to tell people what to do with their money, but wouldn’t it be nice for somebody to buy it and keep it as we have – as a large, nice piece of property where you can get away from the rest of society but you’re still four minutes from Richmond?”

The Vail family used to own Southern Fuel Oils, which they sold in the late 1970s, Thomas said. He said the family acquired Chatsworth through a trade of the company’s terminal property on Commerce Road, on the opposite side of the river.

Thomas, who owns dumpster rental company Dominion Site Services, said the family has considered selling the property over the years and has received numerous inquiries from potential buyers – one from as far away as Canada, he said. They’ve turned down requests to locate wireless communications towers at Chatsworth, and they’ve long worked with Hanover-based Engel Family Farms, which continues to farm the property.

Thomas said the timing of the listing is due in part to his mother getting older, planning regarding family estate taxes, and the development planned at Tree Hill Farm, a 531-acre property between Chatsworth and Rocketts Landing.

That property was approved in 2007 for 2,770 residential units, including single-family homes, townhomes, condos and apartments; 1.16 million square feet of office and commercial space; and 250 acres of open space and parkland.

Gray Land and Development Co., the land development affiliate of Richmond-based GrayCo., purchased Tree Hill in 2006 for $13.3 million. Grayco executive Russell Aaronson III has said the company remains committed to the project but is waiting for the market to recover before going forward.

Chatsworth is listed by Susie Blanton of Long & Foster. Its two parcels were most recently assessed by Henrico County at a combined value of $8.6 million, with a total land use value of $863,800. The latter value is set for tax purposes after a break from the county’s land use program.

And Chatsworth isn’t the only significant acreage for sale south of Rocketts Landing. Other riverfront properties on the market include a nearly 50-acre tract at 1521 Cedar Crest Lane, listed for $1.7 million; a nearly 5,000-square-foot home on 31 acres at 9860 Osborne Landing is listed for $1.69 million; and 25 acres at 8680 Osborne Turnpike is for sale for $700,000.

Update: This story has been revised to clarify comments made by one of the agents involved in the listing. 

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Terry Price
Terry Price
8 years ago

You need to check your records as you have included part of my farm in your view of this property. My farm is not for sale.

Terry Price
Terry Price
8 years ago

The view of this property is incorrect as my property is also in your view.