Trails, Rec Center, Community Garden Floated As Radnor Eyes VFMA Land

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — The Radnor Township Board of Commissioners later this month will take further steps to acquire a sizable portion of the Valley Forge Military Academy property.

Officials are seeking to scoop up a roughly 14-acre parcel of the land, and on Jan. 5 approved a motion allowing the solicitor John Rice to prepare for "Potential Selection and Appropriation by Eminent Domain" of the land. This action will be further discussed at a board meeting later this month.

Ward 1 Commissioner Jack Larkin told Patch the move comes as the township's lease with the Radnor Township School District for the Radnor Activity Center at Sulpizio Gym is coming to an end.

"It really requires significant investment in order to make it a rec center that the township would want to use and keep forever," he said.

With the future of that gym up in the air, Larkin said officials have been looking to a space to create a new rec center that would be exclusively owned by the township.

"We heard that Valley Forge was looking to sell, so we started that conversation."

Legally speaking, the township could be in for a lengthy process to acquire the tract using eminent domain. Eminent domain acquisitions can take years and prove costly for government entities seeking to acquire land.

"We're trying to get the process to move quickly," he said. "If we spend two years negotiating a purchase, then this will die on the vine. We kind of have to seize the iron while it's hot."

Larkin said officials hope the township will be able to negotiate the price of the parcel with Valley Forge Military Academy and the transaction will be "arm's length... that makes everybody happy."

"My understanding is they want to sell this," he said of Valley Forge Military Academy. "We're not coming and taking something they don't want to sell. It's just a question really of price is what I understand."

Chairman of Valley Forge Military Foundation Board President John English said there has been no desire to sell the land in question from the board.

"My board has not voted on anything," he said. "We have not discussed selling this property."

The board was shocked and awestruck to learn of the township's move, English said.

Valley Forge Military Academy announced it will be closing at the end of the 2025-26 academic year, though Valley Forge Military College plans to remain in business. A proposal for the soon-to-be-closed academy would see the creation of Valley Forge Public Service Academy Charter School.

>>RELATED: Radnor School Board Hears Public Service Charter School Academy Proposal<<<

Further discussions about the proposed charter school are planned on Jan. 20 at the Radnor Township School Board meeting. A representative for the proposed charter school did not provide comment on the township's goal.

Chairman of Valley Forge Military Foundation Board John English said the board has not heard from the township.

"There's been no communication, no letter, no email, no offer," he said. Valley Forge Military College President Colonel Stuart B. Helgeson showed township officials around the property in late 2025 in good faith, in the event a deal was proposed.

"We were thinking there was going to be a conversation," he said.

English called the township's move toward eminent domain "drastic."

"Their first salvo is to come in with condemnation and eminent domain proceedings," he said. "I find that aggressive on the township's part."

English said the college and academy have been good neighbors to the township.

"We've done everything that's been asked of us," he said.

Eastern University is purchasing a 33.3-acre portion of the property, which includes the football stadium, track, athletic field house, several apartment buildings, additional fields, buildings, and pickleball courts.

English said that land sold for $850,000 per acre. Larkin estimated that land sold for about $500,000 an acre.

As for what becomes of the land should Radnor acquire it is up for discussion, and a hefty amount of community input.

"For me, it essentially ties to open space," Radnor Township Parks & Recreation Director told Patch.

That specific ares for Radnor it not park heavy, she said. That, to her, offers a chance to give residence open space for dog walking, cycling, jogging, and strolls among green space.

"There are not a lot of parks and parcels around there to give resident those experiences," she said. "It's important that we seize these opportunities to create more open space wherever we can because it's so dense here."

While Larkin said the goal would be to establish a rec center on the property, it wouldn't exist on the entire 14 acres.

"The rest of it will likely end up a park," he said.

Larkin said he plans to push for a community garden where residents can grow their own produce and more.

"We have one in Skunk Hollow, but we don't have one on this side of the township," he said. "The people in the community that I've talked to have really looked favorably on that."

Larkin and Cohen said these decisions will also hinge on residents' input.

"There will be an opportunity to understand what the needs are and wants are commensurate to budgetary constraints," Cohen said, noting reconciling needs and fiscal propriety can prove difficult. "We want the public to be engaged in the process to shape something that will benefit Radnor for generations."

Public input is way down the line in regard to this initiative, however.

"The most urgent need would be basketball courts," Larkin said, while acknowledging residents' need for spaces to host club events, programming, and more. "I think we can do better than just a basketball court in a building, though."

While the vision to Cohen is open space, she said a rec center could very well fit into the plan as it develops.

"I wouldn't necessarily expect tammy to show up and knock at your door and demand you show up at a meeting," Larkin said. "But it wouldn't surprise me if it happened."

"At the end of the day, it's about making sure that land doesn't become covered in homes and facilities that might take away other benefits," she said.