Sale of seminary parcel

January 25, 2018
Stuart MacKenzie
San Bruno

The news that Saint Patrick’s Seminary & University sold one acre of its land to the Menlo Park Fire Department was interesting (Jan. 11, p. 16).

1. It will provide the MPFD sufficient land to better accomplish its protection mission.

2. The seminary gains $6.6 million to support its programs to develop new priests.

3. The seminary sold the current fire department site to the MPFD in the 1950s. This new sale continues the good neighbor relations between the seminary and the city of Menlo Park.

4. It shows the high cost of land in the Bay Area.

In 1898, Kate Johnson donated 88 acres to Archbishop Patrick Riordan to build Saint Patrick’s Seminary. In need of money in 1998, the seminary sold 43 acres to a land and housing developer for $22 million. (Jane Knoerle, “Marking a Century: St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park Begins a Year of Centennial Celebration,” The Almanac (Menlo Park), Sept 16, 1998.)

While this current sale is a boon for the seminary, I caution against future sales that would diminish the seminary heritage lands and decrease the campus areas that may be needed for future programs.

In a related point, has the archdiocese published a vision or a plan for the future of the seminary, the source of our priests?

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