The cash-strapped Archdiocese of Philadelphia is selling 200 acres along Sproul Road and the Blue Route in Marple for $47 million, writes Natalie Kostelni of the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Facing tens of millions of dollars in deficit at one point, the archdiocese launched an analysis of how to dispose portions of its portfolio last year.

In addition to the property in Marple, the Archdiocese is selling a portion of its St. Charles Borromeo Seminary campus in Wynnewood, the Villa Saint Joseph by the Sea (a 9,800-square-foot mansion fronting the beach in Ventnor, N.J.), and 55 acres off Route 30 and Woodbine Road in Downingtown.

According to Kostelni, Catholic and religious institutions across the country and locally suffer from dwindling congregations and declining financial support as a result. Some have resorted to selling churches, which have been converted into residential real estate uses, as well as commercial uses such as day care centers, or excess land ripe for new development.

“We’ve been selling a lot of real estate,” Walt D’Alessio, chair of the Archdiocesan Real Estate Committee, told Kostelni. “Excess land has been the easiest to sell and properties with buildings have been more difficult.”

Click here to read more about the Archdiocese selling its property from the Philadelphia Business Journal.

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