The price in the pending deal with longtime landowner Elizabeth Hays was not disclosed. But brokers tell GlobeSt.com land near the park has sold recently for $100,000 to $175,000 per acre, or about $2.30 per sf to $4 per sf.

Weaver & Woodbery's planned project is near existing apartments, townhomes and single-family dwellings. Particularly frustrated over the years with planned ventures by developers is the National Park Service, local brokers and planners tell GlobeSt.com. The federal agency unsuccessfully tried to buy the Hays Farm in the 1930s and again in the 1960s, brokers say. The Trust for Public Land, a Washington, DC-based land preservationist group, also couldn't strike a deal on the farm last year.

Local historians argue that commercial and residential development near the park detracts from its historic value. Developers, however, feel the presence of the 2,889-acre park adds value to whatever project is planned in the immediate area, brokers tell GlobeSt.com.