Want to buy a college campus? Cardinal Stritch University is for sale for $24 million.
The Catholic college abruptly announced its closure in April and finished its final semester last month. President Daniel Scholz said declining enrollment, the pandemic and financial challenges were among the reasons why the school could no longer sustain itself. He said the university faces a $6 million deficit.
Offers are due by July 31. Cardinal Stritch intends to close on the sale by the end of the year.
The property, 6801 N. Yates Road, is in both Glendale and Fox Point. The campus includes dorms, classrooms, offices, a library, dining hall, fieldhouse, fine arts center and roughly 1,000 parking spaces. Half of the buildings were constructed in the 1960s.
Transwestern, a commercial real estate agency handling the sale, described the 43.5-acre property as an “exceptionally rare offering in the mature and established North shore suburbs of Milwaukee and represents a once-in-a-lifetime, legacy-level acquisition opportunity.”
The listing leaves open the idea of renovating existing buildings or redeveloping the property.
“Possible options include selective demolition of excess facilities, strategic partnerships, space sharing, or further subdivision of the site,” the real estate flyer said.
A new development would add to both Fox Point and Glendale’s tax bases. Cardinal Stritch was exempt from the tax rolls because of its nonprofit status.
Transwestern executive vice president Marianne Burish, who is listed on the real estate listing and also serves on the school’s board of trustees, declined to answer questions and referred the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to Cardinal Stritch.
The university declined to answer questions, including how the money from the sale will be spent after the deficit is addressed.
The sale requires approval by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi and the Vatican, though the flyer said “no material delays are expected to be associated with either approval.”
Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KellyMeyerhofer.