Mystery buyer pays $9M for 143 acres on River Road in Henrico

A 143-acre tract along Henrico’s River Road corridor fetched one of the largest purchase prices seen in years for residential real estate in metro Richmond.

The river-fronting property at 8703 River Road, immediately east of the Roslyn Retreat Center, sold April 10 for $9 million, according to a deed recorded in Henrico Circuit Court.

The mystery buyer made the purchase through an LLC formed in early March, about a week before the property was put under contract and just days after the land was listed for sale Feb. 28 with an asking price of $8.25 million.

Whit Wall with The Steele Group | Sotheby’s International Realty listed the home for the sellers. Henrico records show the property’s ownership had been under a pair of LLCs tied to members of the Reed and Espinosa families, including Leslie Reed, who died last year.

Wall said he couldn’t comment on the buyers or sellers because of a confidentiality agreement. The buyer’s agents, Scott Ruth and Scott Shaheen of Shaheen, Ruth, Martin & Fonville Real Estate, also cited confidentiality agreements.

The Reed family’s ownership extends to the nearby Redesdale mansion at 8603 River Road, a 55-acre property not included in the listing. Three separately owned residential properties separate the two other tracts.

An 1,100-square-foot house is on the property. (Images courtesy CVRMLS)

The land at 8703 River Road is made up of two parcels on opposite sides of the Kanawha Canal. The 51-acre higher-ground parcel includes an 1,100-square-foot house built in 1948, and the 92-acre lower parcel includes 3,800 feet of river frontage.

The two parcels are assessed by Henrico at $3.25 million combined, though their total land use value comes out to $926,500, including the improvement value of the house. The latter amount is set for tax purposes after a break from the county’s land use program.

The listing marketed the property as “an exceptional opportunity to create your private estate or family compound.” Wall said he received 10 offers from local and out-of-town would-be buyers, including from Florida, California and England.

While he also received interest from developers, Wall said, “I can say it did not go to a developer, which pleased everyone, including the sellers.”

Wall said the listing was unlike any he had handled or seen in his 50 years of selling residential real estate. Noting the amount of acreage along what otherwise is largely a suburban area, Wall said: “It’s certainly the most unique property I’ve sold or even seen along the River Road corridor.

Whit Wall

“Raw acreage in Henrico County in that River Road corridor, that to me was just such an unusual, unique opportunity,” he said. “Just a wonderful piece of property.”

With Sotheby’s international reach, Wall said he was expecting competing offers.

“I was expecting multiple offers. I don’t think I was expecting 10,” he said. “I’m not that surprised, just the way things are in Richmond now. It’s become quite a different place than when I started 50 years ago.”

The listing and the sale are among the biggest seen in metro Richmond in recent years. In 2020, the 261-acre Glen Roy estate at 8899 River Road, farther west, sold for $10 million. Last year, the 12,500-square-foot house at 5407 Cary Street Road in the city sold for $9 million.

Also last year, in rural Goochland County, the 672-acre Orapax estate and preserve property at 3831 River Road West sold for just under $5 million.

Note: This story has been updated with assessment info for the parcels.

The property includes parcels on both sides of the canal and 3,800 feet of river frontage.