Key Takeaways
- • A 170-year-old Visitation Sisters monastery and academy campus in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn sold for $42.25 million to a buyer group led by Stephen Palmese of Integritas Capital and Rachel Foster of Heights Advisors, representing a significant real estate conversion opportunity in the Brooklyn market.
- • The 7.5-acre property at 8902 Ridge Boulevard, assessed at $4.8 million, generated net proceeds of approximately $40 million for the religious order after the sale was approved by New York State Attorney General in August 2026.
- • The buyer consortium—including Integritas Capital (a private equity platform focused on real estate) and Heights Advisors, alongside passive investors Daniel Kodsi and Matthew Kodsi—signals development intent toward a mixed-use or residential tower project, consistent with similar church-to-residential conversions underway in Brooklyn.
- • The monastery and school have remained shuttered since 2024 due to declining membership, concluding a 171-year institutional presence in Brooklyn that began in 1855; the Sisters of the Visitation, a French Catholic order founded in 1610, required New York State approval to divest substantially all assets.
- • The transaction reflects institutional real estate repositioning driven by demographic and operational pressures on legacy religious properties, with parallel conversions underway citywide, including a 27-story church-to-residential project in Fort Greene backed by the same buyer group.
Summary
A 7.5-acre Visitation Sisters monastery and Catholic academy campus in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn has sold for $42.25 million to a buyer group led by Brooklyn-based private equity and real estate investors Stephen Palmese (founder of Integritas Capital) and Rachel Foster (founder and president of Heights Advisors). The transaction, approved by the New York State Attorney General in August 2026, represents a significant institutional property repositioning in the Brooklyn residential development market.
The property, located at 8902 Ridge Boulevard and situated behind 30-foot stone walls, encompasses a monastery, chapel, and school building on land assessed at $4.8 million. The Sisters of the Visitation, a French Catholic religious order founded in 1610 with a 171-year presence in Brooklyn dating to 1855, required New York State approval under nonprofit asset divestiture regulations before completing the sale. According to the filing, the Sisters entered into an initial purchase contract in late April 2026 and expect net proceeds of approximately $40 million.
The buyer entity, 1137 91 LLC, represents a seasoned real estate development partnership. Palmese, a former vice chair at JLL, established Integritas Capital as a private equity platform specializing in large residential projects. His co-investors include Rachel Foster of Heights Advisors, her director Scott Geddes, and passive investors Daniel Kodsi and Matthew Kodsi. The buyer group is currently developing a resort-residential tower in Fort Lauderdale and has structured financing for a 27-story church-to-residential conversion in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, suggesting the Visitation property will likely be repositioned as a mixed-use or residential development.
The monastery and school have been shuttered since 2024, when declining membership numbers rendered continued full ministry operations unsustainable. This institutional closure reflects broader demographic pressures affecting legacy religious properties across the Northeast and positions the Visitation site within a sector-wide trend of religious real estate conversion driven by declining vocations and operational consolidation within Catholic dioceses.
The property, located at 8902 Ridge Boulevard and situated behind 30-foot stone walls, encompasses a monastery, chapel, and school building on land assessed at $4.8 million. The Sisters of the Visitation, a French Catholic religious order founded in 1610 with a 171-year presence in Brooklyn dating to 1855, required New York State approval under nonprofit asset divestiture regulations before completing the sale. According to the filing, the Sisters entered into an initial purchase contract in late April 2026 and expect net proceeds of approximately $40 million.
The buyer entity, 1137 91 LLC, represents a seasoned real estate development partnership. Palmese, a former vice chair at JLL, established Integritas Capital as a private equity platform specializing in large residential projects. His co-investors include Rachel Foster of Heights Advisors, her director Scott Geddes, and passive investors Daniel Kodsi and Matthew Kodsi. The buyer group is currently developing a resort-residential tower in Fort Lauderdale and has structured financing for a 27-story church-to-residential conversion in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, suggesting the Visitation property will likely be repositioned as a mixed-use or residential development.
The monastery and school have been shuttered since 2024, when declining membership numbers rendered continued full ministry operations unsustainable. This institutional closure reflects broader demographic pressures affecting legacy religious properties across the Northeast and positions the Visitation site within a sector-wide trend of religious real estate conversion driven by declining vocations and operational consolidation within Catholic dioceses.
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