The 7.5-hectare site of the Sisters of the Visitation at 8902 Ridge Boulevard, which comprises an abbey, a chapel, and a school, and is enclosed by 30-foot high stone walls, was sold for US$42.25 million. The buyer is a group of Brooklyn-based developers and investors known for large residential projects, including executives from Integritas Capital and Heights Advisors.
The sale by the Catholic order was approved on Monday by the office of the New York State Attorney General. Under New York State law, non-profit organisations must obtain such approval when selling all or the majority of their assets.
The buying entity, 1137 91 LLC, is composed of beneficial owners whose development and investment firms overlap. These include Brooklyn real estate investor Stephen Palmese, founder of the private equity platform Integritas Capital and former Vice Chairman at JLL, as well as Rachel Foster, founder and president of Brooklyn residential developer Heights Advisors, together with the developer's director, Scott Geddes, and Daniel Kodsi and Matthew Kodsi.
According to 'The Real Deal', these long-standing business partners are planning a resort residential tower in Fort Lauderdale. Stephen Palmese's Integritas is also the lender behind an upcoming conversion of a church into a 27-storey residential building in Brooklyn's Fort Greene. The composition of the buyer group suggests a probable development of the historic property into a large mixed-use or residential project.
The Visitation Sisters, formally the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, an order founded in France in 1610, concluded an initial contract in late April. The school and monastery have been closed since 2024 after membership became too low to maintain full services. Their presence in Brooklyn dates back to 1855.
According to filing documents, the sellers expect net proceeds of US$40.9 million, which will be held in trust under an approved dissolution and asset distribution plan. The beneficial owners and their representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
