Radnor eyes Valley Forge Military Academy land, but foundation hesitates

Radnor Township officials say they want to use eminent domain to acquire land from the soon-to-close Valley Forge Military Academy, arguing that the purchase would help stymie the forward march of land development in North Wayne.

But the Valley Forge Military Foundation does not appear in a hurry to sell. In a statement to Fideri News Network, the foundation on Jan. 8 said it must first analyze the future needs of both the foundation and the Valley Forge Military College, a separate institution that shares a campus with VFMA.

“Once the trustees have fulfilled their fiduciary obligation to determine the best path forward to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the college and its vital mission for our military, we would be pleased to share those plans with Radnor Township,” said John English, chair of the foundation’s board.

Radnor commissioners on Jan. 5 approved a motion authorizing the township’s solicitor, John Rice, to prepare the necessary legal paperwork the township would need to acquire 14 of the roughly 70 acres that comprised the former academy’s campus. Eminent domain generally allows the government to take private property for public use if the owner of that property is fairly compensated for it. The township now aims to introduce an eminent-domain ordinance at its Jan. 24 meeting.

“The township is obviously always interested in open space,” Commissioner Jack Larkin said during the meeting. “We are also very much looking for a solution to the ongoing problems that we have with Sulpizio Gym.” The township-owned recreation center has documented roofing problems, and HVAC issues, and Larkin noted that “we’re looking to supplement and eventually replace that space” using the VFMA land.

Larkin said the recent construction of new homes and a continuing-care facility in North Wayne add value to the community but also come with concerns about traffic and consumption of township resources. “It’s time now, I think, for the additional buildout in that area to come to a close,” he added.

Larkin explained that “the information that we have been given by the property owner is that they are in talks to sell that [land] to a private developer,” which would use it to build single-family homes. But he cautioned that “I have no idea whether that’s true,” adding that “we just haven’t really heard anything back from the school” responding to the township’s attempt to start a good-faith negotiation. “They haven’t said no; they haven’t set a price. It just kind of went radio silent,” Larkin said.

English, chair of the Valley Forge Military Foundation’s board of trustees, acknowledged that “VFMA was aware that Radnor Township had expressed some interest in acquiring a portion of property owned by the Valley Forge Military Foundation.” However, he said that “we were not aware that the township believes it needs to proceed as quickly as it is.”

VFMA in September 2025 announced its plans to close after May 30, 2026, following the graduation of its 98th Corps of Cadets. The school’s board of trustees cited sharp declines in enrollment driven by the rising costs of boarding-school tuition as well as changes in Pennsylvania law that drove steep insurance premium increases for the academy.

But the Valley Forge Military College, English noted, “is still very much active and thriving on our campus as it continues its national security mission of training and commissioning future officers for the United States Army.”