Arcadia University to purchase the former Bishop McDevitt High School

Arcadia University announced plans Tuesday to buy the former Bishop McDevitt High School and its more than 18 acres of surrounding property from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $6.5 million, with details about the site’s future use to be announced at a later time.

Calling the purchase an “extraordinary opportunity,” Arcadia president Ajay Nair said in a statement that the university would “take a measured approach” to the former property of McDevitt — a beloved Glenside Catholic high school that shuttered in June after more than six decades in operation.

» READ MORE: Two more Catholic high schools closing: Hallahan, McDevitt to shut in June

“The acquisition of this property will afford us the space to continue to advance our esteemed academic programs while enhancing the educational experience for Arcadia students,” Nair said.

The property, at 125 Royal Avenue, includes the four-story former McDevitt school building, athletic fields, and a parking lot. Arcadia, which is within walking distance of the McDevitt campus, will communicate directly with its neighbors on its plan and offer opportunities for community input, according to a joint news release from the archdiocese and the university.

Since 2014, the archdiocese and Arcadia have belonged to a shared property-use agreement over the McDevitt campus, which allowed for dual credit enrollment programs between the former high school and university. The agreement also granted first right of refusal to Arcadia if the McDevitt property was ever sold, the news release said.

A spokesperson for the archdiocese said that the sale to Arcadia “will help preserve the building and enable it to continue to serve the community as an academic institution for years to come.”

Along with John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls’ High School in Center City, the archdiocese closed McDevitt at the end of the 2021 school year — citing dwindling enrollment, finances, and demographic trends.

By the time the school’s closure was announced in November 2020, McDevitt was operating at 40% capacity, with fewer than 360 students. Still, news of the closure was devastating to alumni, board members, students, and parents, who rallied and raised funds in attempts to save their school.

St. Basil Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Jenkintown run by the Ukrainian Catholic Sisters of St. Basil the Great, also closed its doors at the end of the 2021 academic year due to declining enrollment and financial hardship.