A 46-acre vacant tract owned by the Sisters of St. Francis in Aston, founders of Neumann University, has been sold to Aston Township to create a new park, writes Frank Kummer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sisters of St. Francis land, close to Neumann University at North Convent and Red Hills Road, was bought for $1.9 million and is part of a larger piece of property that once contained a convent, nursing facilities, and other open space.

The conservation group Natural Lands helped broker the deal.

“The preservation of this land is especially significant in a community that is almost 100 percent developed and with a density of nearly 3,000 residents per square mile,” said Robyn Jeney, land protection project manager for Natural Lands.

Talks to procure the land began two years ago when officials reached out to the nuns in a larger effort to preserve unprotected properties in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Aston put in $100,000 toward the purchase and used grans from Delco Green Ways and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The land will be opened to the public as a passive-use park with trails through meadows and woodlands.

Find out more details about this Sisters of St. Francis land deal in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Editor’s Note: This post about Aston buying the Sisters of St. Francis land for open space preservation first appeared on DELCO Today in December 2023.