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A century-old Catholic seminary overlooking Interstate 280 in Los Altos has sold for $43 million, marking a new chapter for one of the Peninsula’s most distinctive hillside landmarks.
Since 1926, Maryknoll’s green-roofed bell tower, with its upturned eaves and rooflines inspired by traditional Chinese architecture, has stood above the hills as a familiar sight for motorists traveling along the highway.
Built as part of the neighboring St. Joseph’s Seminary campus, the 57-room, roughly 405,000-square-foot complex originally housed seminarians preparing for missionary work. Operated by the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, it later became a retirement residence for Maryknoll priests and brothers, though It has not been used as a residence in recent years.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Saint Therese Holdings LLC, an entity linked through state business records to attorney, entrepreneur and former vice presidential candidate Nicole Shanahan’s Bia-Echo Foundation, acquired the 29.2-acre property at 23000 Cristo Rey Drive in an all-cash transaction on June 9. Shanahan, the former wife of Google co-founder and Los Altos resident Sergey Brin, founded the nonprofit Bia-Echo Foundation in 2019.
The Maryknoll property sits in unincorporated Santa Clara County but is pre-annexed into Cupertino. It borders Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, part of land sold to Santa Clara County Parks by St. Joseph’s Seminary in 1977 and 1981.
The complex includes 54 ensuite bedrooms, a chapel and sacristy, a commercial kitchen, dining halls, administrative offices, conference rooms, laundry facilities, a barber shop, a woodworking shop and maintenance areas, according to Sequoia Realty Service’s sales listing.
Architecturally, the campus blends Mission, Asian, Baroque and Romanesque styles, with interconnected wings, towers and covered arcades creating a village-like layout. The listing describes the property as having “strong flavors of Spain, Italy and the Orient.” Its rooflines and other architectural details were reportedly designed to reflect the Asian landscapes and other regions where Maryknoll missionaries served.
Although marketed primarily as a private residence, the listing notes that the property could also be adapted into a family compound or redeveloped, subject to local approvals.
The property gained national attention after it was listed for $1 last November as part of a marketing strategy designed to generate interest before ultimately selling for its market value, according to Realtor.com.
The campus sustained significant structural damage during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and its bell tower had to be shortened and repaired, but its rooftop remains visible from the highway.
