Part of old Goochland golf course back up for sale as proposed Covid memorial is put on hold

Humanitarian Ambassadors of America Community Development Corp. bought 151 acres of the former Royal Virginian Golf Course. (Photos courtesy of Humanitarian Ambassadors of America CDC)

Less than a year after being purchased by a local nonprofit, a portion of a long-dormant Goochland golf course is back up for grabs as the owner rethinks its plans for converting the site into a Covid memorial.

Approximately 150 acres that were once part of Royal Virginian Golf Course were listed for sale last week for $1.8 million.

The seller is Humanitarian Ambassadors of America Community Development Corp., which bought the same acreage in May 2022 for $750,000.

Led by Arlene Simmons, the group’s initial vision for the property included a memorial for those who died from Covid, along with rock gardens, water features, vegetable gardens and agricultural and educational programs. The plan was budgeted to cost $33 million, much of which was to be donated.

But Simmons said this week that her Goochland plans are on hold while her organization deals with the loss of multiple key members due to illnesses and deaths.

Arlene Simmons

“Due to some issues, it’s back on the market as of Friday and we are exploring options as far as the property is concerned,” Simmons said. “We’ve put everything on hold right now.”

Simmons said the listing doesn’t necessarily spell the end of the memorial project altogether, as it may take shape in another location elsewhere in the region. She said they are looking for a new site for the memorial closer to her group’s headquarters in South Richmond.

“In the meantime we are exploring an alternative (memorial site), something closer to home because we don’t have the manpower now to be able to do this in Goochland,” she said.

Simmons’ nonprofit has been around for 25 years. She describes the group as community advocates doing work related to issues of health, crime and homelessness. She said the group helped relocate the homeless after the closure of the so-called “Tent City” in the city of Richmond during the pandemic. The group also accepts and distributes in-kind donations for larger nonprofits during instances of disaster or trauma.

The idea for a Covid memorial came to her after several of her relatives died after being stricken with the virus, and also volunteering as a hospice counselor for Covid patients and their families.

With the vision for the memorial in her mind, she then set out to find a tranquil setting somewhere in the region. She found just that at the old golf course that’s been mostly reclaimed by nature.

Hole markers still remain on the old course. (BizSense file)

The Royal Virginian course fell into foreclosure in 2011 and sold for $525,000, before being purchased by an entity tied to Charlotteville businessman Justin Beights in 2018 for $750,000. Beights then shuttered the course and has since floated uses for the pastoral property, including planting trees for conservation tax credits and creating substance abuse recovery homes near a pond on the site.

Beights still owns the course’s remaining 107 acres, which sits across Royal Virginian Parkway from Simmons’ portion.

A message left for Beights this week was not returned.

Simmons said her efforts in Goochland went as far as holding an honorary groundbreaking last year, doing minor clearing and renovations at the course’s old clubhouse, and meeting with county administrators last month.

Simmons’ group is represented in the sale by Stephanie Taylor of EXP Realty, who also handled the group’s purchase of the land.

“We’re asking people to bring any options to the table,” Simmons said.

“We remain excited about honoring those who have lost their lives to Covid and to health challenges and those that are grieving. And just doing everything that will strengthen people’s outlook on health and the daily challenges.”