Historic St. Gabriel's Site In Audubon, An Icon Of Route 422, Has Been Sold

AUDUBON, PA — The historic St. Gabriel's Hall in Audubon, long an icon of Route 422 and a home for troubled youth since the 19th century, has been sold to a property developer, the Philadelphia Business Journal first reported, citing an analysis of the county's property records.

The buyer, Audubon Land Development, purchased the 60-acre site for $14.5 million, according to the report. While they have not said what they plan on doing with the property, their portfolio includes a little bit of everything: retail and housing developments but also industrial uses.

Originally built in 1898, St. Gabriel's operated as some form of a juvenile delinquent treatment center under the Archdiocese of Philadelphia until 2020, when it was shut down.

At the time, the Archdiocese cited a 72 percent decrease in the number of children assigned to the school over the last five years and "the unsustainable losses that the system has been and would continue to experience."

The property sits between the Schuylkill River and Perkiomen Creek, and is adjacent to both Valley Forge National Park and the John James Audubon Center.

The all-boys Catholic behavioral program served students between 13 and 19 years old. The school partnered with the City of Philadelphia and numerous other local and state agencies to provide education, social work, vocational training, clinical services, mental health treatment, and more for troubled youth. St. Gabe's had worked closely with De La Salle Vocational in Bensalem, which also closed in 2020, for decades.