There's a fairly substantial
Wikipedia entry on Janelia,
And another similar article on
Ashburn Web
A bit more on the owners, Ms. Pickens is credited with spearheading and writing Loudoun's zoning ordinance - the first in any rural county. She died in 1993 and was honored by a
resolution in the Virginia senate which catalogs her many civic accomplishments.
When she sold Janelia to Baan, my understanding is that the deal stipulated a couple unusual conditions... one was that the spectacular view towards Sugarloaf Mountain be preservered, and also that the properties' caretaker be kept on as long as he wanted. He had spent his whole life on the farm, was raised in one of the tenant houses that has now been torn down. He has since moved on to another job, but HHMI hires him to mow some of the meadows.
The house is in excellent structural condition because it has thick reinforced concrete walls and floors. When HHMI took over, there was talk that it would be the renovated and used as the director's residence, then that it would be used as a conference center. I have no idea what the current plans if any are. They have replaced the many broken windows, and done some repairs to the roof and gutters.