Townley IV Farm in Amherst County. Bon Secours, which has owned the property since 2009, has listed the rural retreat for sale. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
A sprawling estate owned by Bon Secours for more than a decade has hit the market.
The health system has listed for sale Townley IV Farm, a 1,500-acre rural property at 1402 Stapleton Road in Amherst County. Bon Secours has used the property for corporate and spiritual retreats as well as conferences.
Bon Secours is asking $6.95 million for the property, which was donated to the health system in 2009.
“(Townley) has had a long history with the ministry and the Sisters of Bon Secours. Sister Pat Eck’s brother, Francis T. Eck, owned this farm for decades before it was donated to Bon Secours,” health system spokeswoman Emma Swann said in an email Wednesday. “After conferring with the Sisters, including Sr. Pat, Bon Secours listed the property for sale so that a new entity can add value to the property and benefit the greater Richmond and central Virginia areas. We are hopeful that the potential sale of this land will help it take on a prosperous new life.”
The Townley property’s main house is more than 9,500 square feet and dates to around 1850. The home has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and a wine cellar in the basement.
Townley IV Farm. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
Townley also features a conference center, in-ground pool, guest cottages and a 10-suite retreat-style building that was built in 2017, per a leasing flyer.
“This property is completely outfitted to host mid-size conferences, retreats, weddings, or other events that gather a crowd,” according to the property’s online listing.
Townley overlooks the James River and is northeast of Lynchburg. It’s about a two-hour drive west of Richmond. The property is zoned A-1 agricultural residential district, and it has a special permit to operate as a ministry retreat and conference center, per the leasing flyer.
Nearly all the property, 1,300 acres, is enrolled in an Amherst land-use program that taxes agricultural properties at a reduced rate.
Included in the sales price are a backhoe, dump truck, tractors, pick-up trucks, golf carts and other equipment and vehicles.
Kristy Milton and Norman Moon of Thalhimer have the listing on the property.
Francis Eck, who donated the property to Bon Secours, was a Richmond attorney and registered lobbyist of the Virginia Resort Development Association who was active in the Catholic community.
Eck was a member of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond. He died in August 2011, according to online obituaries, several years after he donated the family estate to the Catholic health system.
Eck’s sister Pat is a member of the Bon Secours board of directors, according to the health system’s website.
Back in Richmond, Bon Secours plans to break ground on what’s planned to be the final phase of the Westhampton Commons redevelopment project, a $21 million mixed-use building on Libbie Avenue. The health system has also revisited plans to expand the campus of St. Francis Medical Center in Chesterfield County with a new surgical center and offices.
Townley IV Farm in Amherst County. Bon Secours, which has owned the property since 2009, has listed the rural retreat for sale. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
A sprawling estate owned by Bon Secours for more than a decade has hit the market.
The health system has listed for sale Townley IV Farm, a 1,500-acre rural property at 1402 Stapleton Road in Amherst County. Bon Secours has used the property for corporate and spiritual retreats as well as conferences.
Bon Secours is asking $6.95 million for the property, which was donated to the health system in 2009.
“(Townley) has had a long history with the ministry and the Sisters of Bon Secours. Sister Pat Eck’s brother, Francis T. Eck, owned this farm for decades before it was donated to Bon Secours,” health system spokeswoman Emma Swann said in an email Wednesday. “After conferring with the Sisters, including Sr. Pat, Bon Secours listed the property for sale so that a new entity can add value to the property and benefit the greater Richmond and central Virginia areas. We are hopeful that the potential sale of this land will help it take on a prosperous new life.”
The Townley property’s main house is more than 9,500 square feet and dates to around 1850. The home has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and a wine cellar in the basement.
Townley IV Farm. (Courtesy of Thalhimer)
Townley also features a conference center, in-ground pool, guest cottages and a 10-suite retreat-style building that was built in 2017, per a leasing flyer.
“This property is completely outfitted to host mid-size conferences, retreats, weddings, or other events that gather a crowd,” according to the property’s online listing.
Townley overlooks the James River and is northeast of Lynchburg. It’s about a two-hour drive west of Richmond. The property is zoned A-1 agricultural residential district, and it has a special permit to operate as a ministry retreat and conference center, per the leasing flyer.
Nearly all the property, 1,300 acres, is enrolled in an Amherst land-use program that taxes agricultural properties at a reduced rate.
Included in the sales price are a backhoe, dump truck, tractors, pick-up trucks, golf carts and other equipment and vehicles.
Kristy Milton and Norman Moon of Thalhimer have the listing on the property.
Francis Eck, who donated the property to Bon Secours, was a Richmond attorney and registered lobbyist of the Virginia Resort Development Association who was active in the Catholic community.
Eck was a member of the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond. He died in August 2011, according to online obituaries, several years after he donated the family estate to the Catholic health system.
Eck’s sister Pat is a member of the Bon Secours board of directors, according to the health system’s website.
Back in Richmond, Bon Secours plans to break ground on what’s planned to be the final phase of the Westhampton Commons redevelopment project, a $21 million mixed-use building on Libbie Avenue. The health system has also revisited plans to expand the campus of St. Francis Medical Center in Chesterfield County with a new surgical center and offices.