Radnor inks deal with Valley Forge Military Academy and College Foundation
On Monday March 23, the Radnor Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an agreement with the Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation for a five-year right-of-first-refusal to buy 33.3 acres of the Eagle Road campus.
Just after that vote, the BoC voted to remove a pending ordinance that would use eminent domain to take 11 acres of the campus for recreational purposes.
Previously, Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation President John English had spoken out against Radnor’s threat of eminent domain, saying the military college was continuing to use the campus to educate future U.S. Army officers, and the buildings that the township would take were needed for the mess hall, dorm, exercise, and weight room.
Township Solicitor John Rice said the Valley Forge issue has been on the agenda for several months. The agreement gives the township the right to match any offers that VFMA receives for its property.
“There is, of course, developer interest out there,” said Rice. “What we’ve negotiated is a right of first refusal that gives the township a right to match any legitimate offer that comes in.”
The township is paying $1 for this agreement, he said.
“It provides the township with some level of awareness and some level of control of what is going to happen with that property,” said Rice.
English had signed the agreement, Rice noted.
“We are going to walk (the property) and discuss it with the Valley Forge Foundation,” said Rice. “There are buildings there they want to continue to use and buildings that are probably unusable.”
English told Fideri News Network, “The right of first refusal essentially gives the township the right to match any offer the Foundation might receive to purchase all or a portion of the Foundation’s property. We are cautiously hopeful that it might also assuage the concerns of those considering enrolling in the college this year. That is the main reason the Foundation agreed to the right of first refusal.
“We, as an educational institution, now need to double our efforts on recruiting for the fall semester as the publicity of eminent domain has had a negative impact on our recruiting cycle,” English said. “While the agreement with the township still leaves open the possibility of eminent domain at any time, we are hopeful that we can convince potential students that the talk of eminent domain has now subsided. We look forward to working with the township to determine if we can assist and partner to meet the township’s needs for the community.”
This May will mark the final class of cadets to graduate from the Valley Forge Military Academy, although the college will continue to operate.
“This is a phenomenal last step,” said Commissioner Jack Larkin, whose ward encompasses VFMAC. “Eminent domain can create years and years of challenges.”
“I’m really excited about this,” Larkin said. “We get to finish the conversation we started several months ago, when for whatever reason, the line went dead on the other end.”
Valley Forge officials also gave Radnor a list of contracts they’d signed for weddings and other events to be held on the property and “not subject to the right of first refusal,” said Larkin. “If there were other contracts that got signed at the 11th hour, that would be a problem.”
