The Diocese of St. Augustine sold All Saints Catholic Nursing Home this week to Cross Senior Care, through an affiliate, for $11 million.
The diocese said it made the decision after two years of research and consultation.
All Saints, a nonprofit skilled nursing care and rehabilitation facility, has a 120-bed capacity. The diocese has owned and operated it since 1955 when it was located in Riverside. That property was sold in 1992 and the center was built on 3 acres next to Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 5888 Blanding Blvd. in West Jacksonville.
“I did not arrive at this decision lightly. It came only after a great deal of consultation, discussion and prayer,” Bishop Felipe J. Estévez said in a news release.
Because of the complex nature of modern health care delivery, Estévez said it became clear the diocese no longer has the expertise to operate a standalone nursing home facility, according to the release.
The diocese received approval from the Holy See on Dec. 3. The deed was signed Wednesday and recorded Thursday with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
The name of All Saints Catholic Nursing Home will change to Cross Care Center.
Hollywood-based Volunteer Properties of Jacksonville LLC, which bought the property, was created by Cross Senior Care. Cross Senior Care operates nine senior care facilities through its affiliates in Florida and Georgia.
The diocese said a condition of the sale includes a stewardship agreement, meaning that the facility will be operated in accordance with the moral, ethical and social teachings of the Catholic Church as expressed in the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care.”
Estévez said the transaction also includes “covenants running with the land” that restrict the use of the property, prohibiting its use for purposes or functions that are contrary to Catholic ethical and moral teachings, unless the adjacent property is no longer a Catholic parish.
The proceeds of the sale will be used to retire debt on assets the diocese has acquired, said Father Michael Houle, episcopal vicar of development and finance for the Diocese of St. Augustine, in the release.
The property already is listed on crossseniorcare.com.