Price for Carlheim Manor Restoration: $9 Million

By Arianne Aryanpur (Contact)

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Loudoun Restoration and Preservation Society has released a report estimating that it will cost more than $9 million to renovate historic Carlheim Manor in Leesburg.

Trustees of the estate are in negotiations with the Aurora School for Children with Autism to lease the property to the school, said Steve Wolfson, associate executive director of the Arc of Loudoun County, the parent organization of Aurora. The school is currently located in Purcellville.

The mansion, built in the 1870s, was home to the Paxton family until 1922. Rachel Paxton requested in her will that it be used to benefit needy children. A few years ago, trustees of the estate tried to demolish the home.

In 2005, Centex Homes Homes gave the Restoration and Preservation Society $10,000 to help fund a study that would determine the cost of renovating the structure. The study, conducted by Tidewater Preservation Inc., was completed in October and presented to the trustees last month, said H. Vernon Davis, president of the society.

Davis said the society is planning to apply for grants to help cover the $9 million cost.

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