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Historic Freedom House, former slave pen, goes up for sale
Historic Freedom House, former slave pen, goes up for sale
October 24, 2019
A plaque outside of the Freedom House Museum (Courtesy photo)
By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com
The Freedom House, the registered National Historic Landmark and infamous location of a slave pen at 1315 Duke St., is up for sale.
The nonprofit Northern Virginia Urban League has owned the early 19th century building since 1996 but has struggled to pay for maintenance, repairs and taxes in recent years. According to city records, the NVUL has failed to pay property taxes for the site, which amount to around $19,000 per year, for the past three years.
Residents, historians and members of the NVUL came out to the city council public hearing on Saturday to implore the city to purchase the site.
“The Freedom House could provide much learning, so much understanding and so much healing. It must be preserved,” Gary Carr, former president of the NVUL said at the hearing.
“My favorite Biblical verse is ‘Many are called, but few are chosen,’” Carr continued. “You were called to public service. You were chosen to address the fate of the Freedom House. I hope that you choose to do the right thing and pay it back and pay it forward.”
The building is listed as an office or residential property and priced at $2.1 million, according to the loopnet.com listing. The real estate listing cites the building’s “historic charm” but makes no men- tion of the precise nature of that history.
....
October 24, 2019
A plaque outside of the Freedom House Museum (Courtesy photo)
By Cody Mello-Klein | cmelloklein@alextimes.com
The Freedom House, the registered National Historic Landmark and infamous location of a slave pen at 1315 Duke St., is up for sale.
The nonprofit Northern Virginia Urban League has owned the early 19th century building since 1996 but has struggled to pay for maintenance, repairs and taxes in recent years. According to city records, the NVUL has failed to pay property taxes for the site, which amount to around $19,000 per year, for the past three years.
Residents, historians and members of the NVUL came out to the city council public hearing on Saturday to implore the city to purchase the site.
“The Freedom House could provide much learning, so much understanding and so much healing. It must be preserved,” Gary Carr, former president of the NVUL said at the hearing.
“My favorite Biblical verse is ‘Many are called, but few are chosen,’” Carr continued. “You were called to public service. You were chosen to address the fate of the Freedom House. I hope that you choose to do the right thing and pay it back and pay it forward.”
The building is listed as an office or residential property and priced at $2.1 million, according to the loopnet.com listing. The real estate listing cites the building’s “historic charm” but makes no men- tion of the precise nature of that history.
....
Virginia Politics
Historic Alexandria house where a notorious slave pen was located is up for sale
By Patricia Sullivan
Oct. 4, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. EDT
The nonprofit organization that owns the site of one of the most notorious slave pens in the nation has put the building and its basement museum up for sale, after struggling for years to pay for the mortgage, property taxes and repairs.
Freedom House, a registered National Historic Landmark in Alexandria, Va., is being advertised as an office or residential property priced at $2.1 million. The 1812 rowhouse has been owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League since 1996.
Historians say it was one of the largest and cruelest slave depots in the country, sending tens of thousands of enslaved Africans from Virginia and surrounding states into the Deep South before the Civil War.
Chair of the local Urban League’s board, Diane McLaughlin, said the board voted in April to “relieve itself of the financial burden” of maintaining and operating the museum and building. The board hoped to sell the building to the city below market value, in exchange for being allowed to retain its operations there, McLaughlin said in a statement.
But the sale, which the league expected to happen by Oct. 1, has not materialized. The property was put up for sale in June as a contingency. McLaughlin said city officials told her in late September that they intend to buy the site, and she is “cautiously optimistic” it will happen.
Mayor Justin Wilson (D) said the city wants “to avoid that property falling into private hands” but cannot take on the museum and its operations alone. “We’re trying to make sure the museum remains publicly accessible,” he said. “We’re willing to work with any partner that can make that happen.”
....
Patricia Sullivan covers government, politics and other regional issues in Arlington County and Alexandria. She worked in Illinois, Florida, Montana and California before joining The Post in November 2001. Follow https://twitter.com/psullivan1
Historic Alexandria house where a notorious slave pen was located is up for sale
By Patricia Sullivan
Oct. 4, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. EDT
The nonprofit organization that owns the site of one of the most notorious slave pens in the nation has put the building and its basement museum up for sale, after struggling for years to pay for the mortgage, property taxes and repairs.
Freedom House, a registered National Historic Landmark in Alexandria, Va., is being advertised as an office or residential property priced at $2.1 million. The 1812 rowhouse has been owned by the Northern Virginia Urban League since 1996.
Historians say it was one of the largest and cruelest slave depots in the country, sending tens of thousands of enslaved Africans from Virginia and surrounding states into the Deep South before the Civil War.
Chair of the local Urban League’s board, Diane McLaughlin, said the board voted in April to “relieve itself of the financial burden” of maintaining and operating the museum and building. The board hoped to sell the building to the city below market value, in exchange for being allowed to retain its operations there, McLaughlin said in a statement.
But the sale, which the league expected to happen by Oct. 1, has not materialized. The property was put up for sale in June as a contingency. McLaughlin said city officials told her in late September that they intend to buy the site, and she is “cautiously optimistic” it will happen.
Mayor Justin Wilson (D) said the city wants “to avoid that property falling into private hands” but cannot take on the museum and its operations alone. “We’re trying to make sure the museum remains publicly accessible,” he said. “We’re willing to work with any partner that can make that happen.”
....
Patricia Sullivan covers government, politics and other regional issues in Arlington County and Alexandria. She worked in Illinois, Florida, Montana and California before joining The Post in November 2001. Follow https://twitter.com/psullivan1
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