Toll Brothers is the nation's largest builder of luxury homes. According to Montgomery County, PA, land records, it paid $3.15 million for the parcel. Although Toll Brothers' spokespeople declined to discuss terms of any sale of the land to the park service, they acknowledged working with the National Park Service regarding such a sale. According to published reports, Toll is asking $9 million for the parcel.

The Conservation Fund has offered to put up sufficient funds to hold the property until the park service raises enough to buy it. The 2004 federal budget, which has not yet been passed, contains a $4-million appropriation earmarked specifically "to prevent further residential development within Valley Forge National Historic Park."

The 3,500-acre park, a Revolutionary War battleground, is undergoing a $30-million restoration, funded by state, federal and private contributions. News of Toll Brothers' plans for the adjacent parcel led to widespread protests among park supporters and historic preservationists.