Notre Dame de Namur University will seek a new buyer for its 46-acre campus after Stanford University announced it would not pursue its acquisition of the property.

“While we are disappointed by Stanford’s decision, we appreciate their consideration of NDNU’s property,” NDNU President Beth Martin said in a statement Tuesday. “Our focus remains on finding a buyer who will preserve and honor the historical significance of this beautiful campus and continue to serve the community-oriented mission that has long been a cornerstone of Notre Dame de Namur University.”

The statement followed Stanford’s announcement, after four years of negotiations, that it would not exercise its option to buy the historic Catholic university’s campus.

“Stanford has appreciated the excitement, care and curiosity the community has shown to us as we listened and learned about the special qualities of the NDNU campus and Belmont,” Stanford said in a statement Tuesday. “We have consistently heard that the community would like the property to be revitalized and continue to be used for academic and other community-serving purposes. Stanford’s vision for the campus has always been aligned with this feedback.”

Stanford cited changes in the “landscape for research universities” and that these “changes are resulting in greater uncertainties and a different set of institutional and financial challenges for Stanford.”

Stanford has not elaborated on those challenges despite requests for comment.

Notre Dame de Namur has struggled with enrollment, which has hovered between 200 and 300 students in recent years.

Belmont officials had hoped Stanford’s plan would revitalize the campus and surrounding community. Stanford had estimated its plan could increase the student population to 2,500, a level not seen in at least a decade.

NDNU is among several small colleges in the region facing challenges. In 2022, Mills College in Oakland merged with Northeastern University in Boston, ending the Oakland institution’s 170-year history as a women’s college.

The NDNU sale would affect only the college — Notre Dame High School and Notre Dame Elementary School will continue to operate at the Belmont site.

“We are disappointed to see that this project is not moving forward, but we also understand that the Stanford team has to consider the changing landscape that is facing research universities at this time,” Belmont Mayor Julia Mates told this news organization Wednesday. “Although I was looking forward to having Stanford University as a partner in the long term, we wish them the best.”

Joel Berman, a Stanford spokesperson for the Belmont project, previously said Stanford hoped its purchase would provide benefits such as restoring the Ralston Mansion, a shuttered wedding venue; maintaining community use of Koret Field; and improving transportation along Ralston Avenue.

Mates said that as Notre Dame de Namur seeks new buyers, “we hope those partners will also have plans for the site that align with Belmont’s long-term vision.”

With a $37.6 billion endowment and a $9.7 billion budget, Stanford is Silicon Valley’s largest landowner, holding over 8,000 acres across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The Belmont campus would have expanded its San Mateo County holdings, which already include a 35-acre health care campus in Redwood City.

In the interim, NDNU said it’ll “remain an independent, nonprofit, Catholic university operating on the Belmont campus and is committed to continuing to improve the student experience at all levels of the university, providing students with a modern learning environment, whether it be in person, fully online or hybrid.”