Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 31, 2007; Page LZ01
The mansion's future has hung in the balance for three years between plans by the estate's trustees to demolish or sell the property and efforts by town officials and preservationists to save it.
An attorney for the board of trustees said this week that it was making progress in negotiations with the Aurora School in Purcellville, which submitted a proposal in June to move to the property.
The cost of renovating the Victorian manor is unclear.
On Saturday, the Loudoun Restoration and Preservation Society had an open house at Carlheim to raise money for a study assessing the cost of repairs to the manor, which dates to the 1870s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The society contracted with Fredericksburg-based Tidewater Preservation Inc. earlier this year for the architectural and engineering report, which is expected to be completed within two weeks.
Before she died in 1922, Carlheim owner Rachel Paxton deeded the 16-acre grounds, including the mansion and several smaller buildings, to the Margaret Paxton Memorial for Convalescent Children, named for her only daughter. Under the terms of her will, the home would be used to provide free care for "needy" children from Loudoun County.
For decades, the mansion housed services for disadvantaged or convalescing children, including an orphanage and a day-care center. But three years ago, the board of trustees charged with administering the Paxton home said they could not afford its upkeep, and in June 2004 the mansion was shuttered. It has been empty since, its windows boarded up.
Board members sought a demolition permit from the town, saying they planned to use the proceeds from the sale of the property to fund children's programs. Town officials promptly rejected the application and added Carlheim to Leesburg's historic district.
The trustees sued the town. The Paxton home's board of visitors, which appoints the trustees, opposed the trustees and sued them, according to the Rev. John Ohmer, who heads the board of visitors.
But the litigation dissolved, and the two boards are working to forge an agreement to better reflect Paxton's will, said Ohmer, rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Leesburg.
The details of a lease between the trustees and Aurora's parent organization, the Arc of Loudoun County, a nonprofit group that advocates for the mentally disabled, have not been settled. But officials involved in the negotiations expressed optimism.
"We're using our best faith to negotiate with Aurora," said Mindy Hetzel, an attorney for the Paxton trustees.
Aurora's proposal matched the terms of Paxton's will more closely than other offers, officials said.
With 22 children in the school and five on the wait list, Aurora is at capacity in its 4,200-square-foot space in Purcellville, which is leased until next May.
Use of the Paxton estate's outbuildings, which include a gymnasium, would allow the school to expand and provide a resource center for children with autism and other disabilities. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) secured a federal grant of $250,000 for the school's expansion, and Aurora hopes to raise at least $750,000.
The study commissioned by the preservation society will provide a more precise estimate of the repairs and upgrades needed for the mansion to meet federal safety requirements and local zoning regulations.
"The mansion itself -- Carlheim -- has unique needs," Ohmer said. It could make an excellent administrative center for the Aurora School, he said, adding that the Paxton outbuildings could be opened to disadvantaged children while the main building was being restored.