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BY AMELIA BISCARDI
Daily Post Staff Writer
Stanford has decided not to buy Notre Dame de Namur University’s campus in Belmont, Stanford announced yesterday (Feb. 25).
Stanford said it is backing away from the 1500 Ralston Ave. property because finding an academic department to move to Belmont would “take significantly longer than we initially planned,” Stanford said in an unsigned statement.
“The landscape for research universities has changed considerably since Stanford entered into the option purchase agreement with NDNU. These changes are resulting in greater uncertainties and a different set of institutional and financial challenges for Stanford,” the statement said. NDNU said in a statement that while they are disappointed by Stanford’s decision, they are moving forward to find a buyer.
Belmont found out that Stanford would not purchase NDNU’s campus a few days ago, according to City Manager Afshin Oskoui.
Oskoui said Stanford has been reevaluating things over the past few weeks and kept the city up to date.
During study sessions, Stanford never said what it would use the property for other than research purposes, despite residents and city officials regularly asking for more information.
Next for NDNU
Kurt Allen, spokesman for NDNU, said the university has always known there was a possibility that Stanford wouldn’t exercise its option to purchase the campus. The plan is to put the university back on the market and look for a new buyer.
“While we are disappointed by Stanford’s decision, we appreciate their consideration of NDNU’s property,” NDNU President Beth Martin said. “Our focus remains on finding a buyer who will preserve and honor the historical significance of this beautiful campus.”
NDNU has been trying for years to retrofit and upgrade the historic Ralston Hall and reopen it to the public. It was estimated in 2015 that the retrofit would cost $50 million.
Stanford in October 2022 submitted plans with the city to build 700,000 square feet of academic buildings at 1500 Ralston Ave. over 30 years, along with making improvements to buildings such as Ralston Hall.
Facing steadily shrinking enrollment, Notre Dame de Namur stopped accepting undergraduates in 2021. The Catholic school has been operating since 1854. NDNU will continue to operate on its campus until a buyer is found, Allen said.
Stanford’s option to buy the campus didn’t include the high school at 1540 Ralston Ave. or the preschool and K-8 school at 1200 Notre Dame Ave.
Plans to expand
The plans for Stanford to expand to Belmont, some 20 minutes away from the university’s main campus, came after Stanford dropped its 2019 General Use Permit, which would have allowed it to expand on its current campus in Santa Clara County. But after locking horns with the county over issues such as providing housing for new employees and students, it withdrew its plans.
The specter of the dropped GUP still lurks in Santa Clara County, as county officials and Stanford have updated the Stanford Community Plan, which will govern development at the university over 10 years.
Stanford has proposed to convert a building near the downtown Palo Alto train station to an outpost for the Doerr School of Sustainability.
In 2016, Redwood City officials approved a 1.5-million-square-foot campus.
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