Credit: Saint Basil Academy.
Toll Brothers, the Fort Washington-based luxury homebuilder, has acquired the 46-acre former Saint Basil Academy property in Jenkintown Township for $9.5 million, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
This purchase follows the academy's closure in June 2021 due to financial and enrollment challenges. The Sisters of the Order of Saint Basil the Great, who owned the property, sold it to support their healthcare needs and global missions.
This lack of assets put the Sisters in a state of financial precarity over the last two decades, especially as the Sisters required more comprehensive and costly healthcare and assistance as they aged. Today the 24 Sisters living at the Motherhouse in Jenkintown have an average age of 84. With virtually zero income, the community has no way to support itself. The sale to Toll Brothers will allow the Sisters to pay for their healthcare and other basic living expenses for the next several years. A portion of the proceeds from the transaction will be tithed to support Sisters of Saint Basil around the world, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and community organizations.
Toll Brothers plans to develop a 55+ active-adult community located at 711 Fox Chase Road, across from Manor College, comprising 150 homes, a clubhouse, and a pool. The project has received approval from local authorities and aims to enhance the neighborhood and increase the tax base.
Abington Township approved the project in May 2024.
This development is part of Toll Brothers' broader expansion in the Philadelphia suburbs, including recent acquisition in King of Prussia.
