The sprawling hunting preserve property surrounds a 4,800-square-foot house overlooking the James River valley. (Photos courtesy CVRMLS)
A year after it was put up for sale with a $7 million price tag, the sprawling Orapax estate and preserve property in Goochland is in the hands of new owners.
The three-level brick house includes verandas facing the river.
The 672-acre property at 3831-33 River Road West, a couple miles west of Courthouse Village, sold Nov. 22 for $4.95 million.
It had been under contract since late September, following two price reductions since it was listed last November. Its latest asking price was $5.75 million.
County property records list the buyer as Ballydonn LLC, a Richmond-based entity formed in October and registered with the State Corporation Commission by Benjamin Rand of downtown law firm Blackburn, Conte, Schilling & Click.
Philip Reed
The mystery buyer was represented in the transaction by Philip Reed with Charlottesville-based brokerage McLean Faulconer. Reed said the LLC consists of two partners who plan to keep the property largely unchanged.
“Two local guys who were just looking for a getaway from Richmond and recreational” use, Reed said. “There’s probably not going to be a lot of changes, which is good, because I think a lot of people thought it was developers. But these guys like it like it is.”
Pam Diemer with Long & Foster had the listing, representing the family of the late Andrew and Nancy Dykers, who established the preserve in the late 1980s and built the two-story brick house that’s within it. Diemer said she couldn’t discuss the sale due to a privacy agreement.
Described as the largest public hunting preserve on the East Coast, Orapax Hunting Preserve opened in 1987 and has hosted numerous hunts and events over the years, including Benedictine Schools of Richmond’s annual Hunt and Gather event and, previously, a yearly party and quail hunt put on by local menswear brand Ledbury.
Ledbury hosted an annual quail hunt and field party at the property for several years. (BizSense file photo)
The bird hunting operation ended this month, though owners Jane and Neal Kauder are keeping the Orapax business going as a dog training, boarding and breeding operation with local brands NK9Training and Punto Blanco Gun Dogs, according to announcements on Orapax’s website and social media. Jane Kauder is a daughter of the Dykerses, who died in recent years.
Featuring an 8-acre fishing lake and boathouse, the property is anchored by the Georgian-style house, which totals four bedrooms and 5½ bathrooms. Bedroom suites with veranda access have river-facing views of the valley, and the house also includes an elevator.
The property includes an 8-acre fishing lake and 4-acre duck pond.
Additional buildings dot the preserve property, including a clubhouse, barn, and cottage with separate driveway. River access is provided via the Lickinghole Creek Aqueduct, a 19th-century stone structure along the James River and Kanawha Canal.
Reed said other offers had been made on the listing before his clients’ bid was accepted. He said the buyers will likely share the property as sections and may rehab some of the buildings and use parts of the property as cropland.
“I know the family did not want to see it sold to developers. That was probably one reason that my guys might’ve gotten it, because they had no plans to really change the use,” Reed said.
The hunting preserve includes a 66-acre center field and flatlands considered ideal for bird hunting.
The property was most recently assessed by the county at $4.2 million.
Reed described the transaction as complicated but “well worth it.”
“I think the sellers are happy with the buyers, and I know the buyers are happy, so it worked out pretty well for everybody,” he said.
The deal is the latest sizable land purchase that Reed has worked in the region. Based locally, he also represented the buyers of 574 acres in New Kent County that sold for $3.4 million in 2018.
The Orapax sale is among the highest real estate deals seen in Goochland in recent years. A few miles downriver from Orapax, the 35-acre Oaklea estate at 330 Flag Station Road sold last year for $7 million in an off-market deal. A few months later, the Sharp family estate in Rivergate sold for $8.75 million.