Warren County EDA Appears Headed Toward Finalized Sale on 53-Acre Baugh Drive Property for Newly Negotiated $3.465-Million Price

At its meeting of Friday, October 24, the Warren County Economic Development Authority (WC EDA, EDA) voted unanimously, 4-0 David McDermott absent, to enter into another amended, and it appears final, sales contract with Executive Land Holdings IV, LLC (the “Purchaser”) for the “Sale of 53.37 Acres on Baugh Drive, Front Royal, Virginia.” According to information attached to the amended sales agreement negotiations with the Pennsylvania-based commercial property developer have been engaged in since August 29, 2023, and amended six previous times.

“The EDA Board of Directors authorizes its Chair and Secretary to execute on behalf of the EDA the Seventh Amendment and all other documents necessary for and related to the closing and transfer of the Property on or before October 31, 2025, subject to review and approval by the EDA’s legal counsel,” a portion of the seventh amended Resolution citing a sales price of $3.465-million stated.

Royal Examiner File Photo of a quorum of the County-overseen EDA board at work with Chairman Rob MacDougall at the head of the table and Secretary Bruce Townshend to the left, with Bob Cullers rounding the trio out.

Royal Examiner contacted WC EDA Board Chairman Rob MacDougall about the newly negotiated sale terms. He pointed out that the EDA’s originally discussed price was $3.8 million, with Executive Land Holdings seeking a reduction to $2.6 million. The middle ground price was reached as a deadline on a finalized sale was approaching. There had been concerns the sale might not go thru, which would have been a blow to the EDA, which is planning to pay off a portion of its banking debts related to the circa-2014 to 2018 EDA “financial scandal” with part of the sales funds.

In a related Resolution also passed on a 4-0 vote by the EDA board on October 24, the EDA authorized “assignment to First Bank & Trust (FB&T) of Deed of Trust Note Given to the EDA by ITFederal, LLC (the “ITF Note”) and the Deed of Trust Securing the ITF Note.”

Chairman MacDougall told us, “These were the two primary actions from the meeting, adding, “Additionally, the board agreed to enter into an agreement with ‘Shenandoah Community Capital Fund’ (SCCF) to administer the EDA’s USDA-funded Small Business Loan Program. The EDA will retain decision-making for which entities receive small business loans, but the SCCF will handle the administrative duties of loan processing/payment tracking.”

Chairman MacDougall explained that the EDA’s small business loans program has been dormant for a few years and the board is trying to re-start it. While a total amount of $550,000 can be available to the federal USDA-funded program, average small business loan amounts disrtributed by the EDA here run in the neighborhood of $5,000 to $10,000, MacDougall told us.