High-Profile Charlotte Farm, Site of Entrepreneur Will Raap’s Final Ambitious Project, Is for Sale

The future of an iconic 583-acre former dairy farm in Charlotte is again at a crossroads several months after the unexpected death of its latest steward and owner, Will Raap, founder of Gardener's Supply and the Intervale Center.

Earthkeep Farmcommon, previously known as Nordic Farm, is being offered for sale by LandVest Real Estate, which has been hired by Raap's widow, Lynette Raap, and the couple's three grown children.

When Raap died on December 12, 2022, his family attributed his death to a “long term illness.”

In an emailed statement sent this week to Seven Days, Lynette Raap wrote, "While our family does not have the ability to carry forward Will's vision for Earthkeep, we are nonetheless hopeful that a buyer will emerge who values the amazing potential that this iconic farm holds for catalyzing the future of Vermont's working landscape."

Rather than listing the conserved farm for a specific price, LandVest broker Averill Cook explained that an offering memorandum outlines the property assets, conservation restrictions on development and some financial information — and solicits proposals from qualified prospective buyers.

Cook said this is a fairly common approach with commercial properties whose value can vary widely depending on planned use of the real estate and any physical assets. "The market dictates value," Cook said.

Nonagricultural options for the property are limited based on its conserved status. Federal funds used to conserve the farm in 1997 preclude growing marijuana, since it remains against federal law.

Raap bought the high-profile farm bordering Route 7 in December 2021 for $3.4 million from a small group of investors led by Jay Canning, founder of Westport Hospitality, which owns Hotel Vermont. The group had been working with Andrew Peterson of Peterson Quality Malt, who started a malthouse operation there.

In a May 2022 cover story for Seven Days, Raap, then 73, detailed his goals for Earthkeep Farmcommon, which boiled down to demonstrating "a new way to be a farm."
Raap's ambitious vision involved building a collective of profitable and environmentally sustainable agriculture-based businesses. He hoped it would serve as a model for other defunct dairy farms across Vermont.

It was a formidable task for anyone, let alone a man who had had quadruple bypass heart surgery the previous summer — although he had recovered well, by all accounts.

"Taking on Earthkeep is an absurdity at my age," Raap acknowledged at the time. But, he added, "People think I can get stuff done. I think I have an obligation to use that."

Raap invested heavily in farm infrastructure, including embarking upon a major rebuild of the renamed Vermont Malthouse, which he bought with the farm. That project is about 90 percent complete, and the business is currently "on pause," according to Cook.

The property also came to Raap with a few tenants who remain on-site, including Sweet Sound Aquaculture, Slowfire Bakery and House of Fermentology, an offshoot of Burlington's Foam Brewers.

John Brawley, owner of Sweet Sound Aquaculture, has raised shrimp in the 3,800-square-foot former calf barn since fall 2018. "It's a beautiful, productive piece of property that really has a lot of potential, not just for grain production and produce but also aquaculture," he said.
Brawley has been hoping to expand his operation to add farm-raised trout, but the uncertainty through ownership transitions has so far deterred him from making that investment. "It's just been really up and down over my five years here," Brawley said.

"Will's plans and vision were spectacular," Brawley continued, "but, man, what a lot of resources [were needed] to keep that momentum going."

There is no guarantee that someone will emerge who is up for the challenge.

"It's going to require persistence and vision and capital to do it in keeping with Will's stewardship and vision for the property," Cook concurred.

Cook said showings to screened, interested parties will start on Monday, April 17, with bids due by 1 p.m., Tuesday, May 23.