Up To 100 Possible Buyers For Marymount California University: Report

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CA — Up to 100 possible buyers have reportedly reached out and expressed interest in Marymount California University in Rancho Palos Verdes.

As Palos Verdes Patch previously reported, facing declining student enrollment, rising costs and the pandemic, the private liberal arts university in April announced it will close this summer.

At the time, Brian Marcotte, the university's president, called it an" extremely sad day for Marymount," which has called the area home for more than five decades.

Marcotte told Southern California News Group this week that up to 100 potential buyers have expressed interest in recent months, some of whom reached out before bidding opened earlier this month.

“We’ve had very strong interest in the property,” Marcotte told the news outlet. “We’re going to let the market dictate the price we’ll ultimately accept.”

Bidding for the property closes July 12, though classes will conclude with the end of the summer term in August. No new students will be admitted for the fall semester.

The university will transition students to other colleges and universities for that semester, in cooperation with its regulators, officials previously said.

The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary established Marymount Palos Verdes College in 1968 as a two-year Catholic junior college. In 2013, the name changed from Marymount College, Palos Verdes to Marymount California University, offering both four-year undergraduate degrees and graduate programs.

The university enrolls 500 full-time students and employs 140 full-time staff.