NC State's deal to sell Hofmann Forest is off
RALEIGH -- The trustees for NC State's endowment fund announced Friday that the controversial deal to sell the school's Hofmann Forest is off after the buyer couldn't put together the financing before closing.
The 79,000 acre forest lies in Onslow and Jones counties. It's named for the founder of the NCSU forestry program, Julius "Doc" Hofmann. The forest had been used by the university for research and it gets money each year for timber sales.
Critics said a company document released soon after the sale announcement suggested the buyers planned to cut down the trees for development and to grow crops. They filed a lawsuit to try to block the sale.
The company buying the land said it has no immediate development plans, and NCSU said it was assured the company planned to keep a working forest at Hofmann.
NCSU said Friday now that the deal is off, the forest will "continue to be owned by the Board of Trustees for the Endowment Fund of NC State and managed by the Natural Resources Foundation - for the benefit of academic programs within the College of Natural Resources. The Foundation and the Endowment Board will evaluate appropriate steps to re-initiate a sales process."
