Far from the debauch-ery of Rugby Road or the bustle of downtown Charlottesville, University alumnus Fred Scott stares out at his 2200-acre property at Bundoran Farm, a short jaunt from Grounds down Route 29 South. He observes the L-shaped land nestled in two valleys with cattle pastures, lakes and a quarry, which often plays host to tourists, members of the Charlottesville community and University students and faculty.
Charlottesville residents are familiar with the land, as it is the site for the annual county fair, an event for which Scott said a transformation takes place from an "open grass pasture to a beautiful city."
The land, which has been in Scott's family since 1940, recently was sold to Qroe Farm Preservation Development, a New England-based company which specializes in projects that emphasize environmentally sound practices and limited, efficient land development.
Scott, who said he has been looking several years for a trustworthy steward, said he found Qroe "totally unthreatening" to his interests in preserving the land.
Upon announcement of the sale last month, Scott said he expected to endure criticism for surrendering his land to development, though he sees the transaction in a different light and feedback on the move has remained positive.
"It really is a privilege to take what you've had all your life and pass it on to someone you trust," he said. "You have to deal with the reality of what you're going to do with something like this -- a huge asset."
The company first developed an interest in the Bundoran property when Qroe President Robert Baldwin's sister-in-law, also a Charlottesville farmowner, recommended the company seek a project there. Baldwin said the land had immediate appeal in its mix of agriculture with open fields and woods, rolling farmland and mountain ridges that color the landscape. Qroe's goal is to "tuck the houses in" the land discreetly so the property can be preserved in a manner that is increasingly unconventional in an age of uncontrolled development, Baldwin said.
He added that he hopes to tap the University for students and faculty interested in helping with the project as well as create a community "that will stand up as a demonstration of how good environmentally sustainable development can be done and should be done."
"There's too much of the old beliefs that the only way to make development work is to trash it," Baldwin said.
While specific plans for the land's development have not yet been drafted, Baldwin said there will be a focus on maintaining Scott's emphasis on agricultural production.
"Our goal is to make sure the farm keeps going so we build a lot of financial support structure within our project," Baldwin said. "We want the rest of the natural system ... to be preserved and managed properly."
Reflecting on how the property has evolved since his family took over the land following the Depression of the 1930s, Scott said Bundoran has come a long way since the days the unheated house was stationed on wholly unfarmed land, when there was a "great deal of ignorance in agriculture" nationwide.
Today, education plays a vital role at Bundoran, and University classes frequently visit the site to conduct geological studies at the abandoned quarry or write collective reports on the land's resources. Environmental Science Prof. Thomas Biggs said he takes his students to Bundoran every semester and has been appreciative of the accessibility that Scott offers, as opposed to surrounding properties.
"It's a nice hunk of land," Biggs said. "Any time you have contiguous property in mountains, streams ... Hopefully [the sale] won't cost us the asset that it's been."
Scott said the feedback from his neighbors about the sale was overwhelmingly positive, and he received more than 60 congratulatory e-mails after the announcement, including friends who quipped "Can Qroe afford to buy Fauquier [County]?" and "This is a grand legacy for Albemarle."
"I was so prepared for a war when we announced this," Scott said. "I'm personally so gratified by the support."
Reflecting on his family's decision with pride and satisfaction, Scott said a University tradition had aided him in his business negotiations.
"We know what the honor system means -- it's still true in business," he said. "The University of Virginia is not the only place with an honor system. The vast majority of people that live under that system learn to love it and like it -- and look forward to doing business with each other."
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