A Levittown-based owner and operator of cemeteries and funeral homes has signed a deal with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to run 13 of its cemeteries throughout the Philadelphia area.
StoneMor Partners L.P., according to the agreement, will provide an initial lease payment of $53 million to the Archdiocese as well as $36 million in future annual rent payments. The annual rent payments will begin to accrue in year 6 of the arrangement, a press release said.
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The archdiocese says the money will go toward paying bills.
“In terms of providing services to so many families per year, this transaction marks the second largest enterprise we have taken on since becoming public in 2004. As with previous transactions, we will be bringing to each property our unique expertise in offering and managing pre-need planning for families,” StoneMor CEO Larry Miller said.
“This arrangement serves the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia well by maintaining our cemeteries as sacred, dignified places of burial while offering employment and important protections for our dedicated staff,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said in a statement. “This is not a decision I came to lightly. It is being entered into only after significant discussion, consideration, prayer and approval by the Holy See.”
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All current cemetery employees will keep their jobs, officials said.
Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem, Saint John Neumann Cemetery in Chalfont and All Saints Cemetery in Newtown are part of the deal.
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StoneMor performed about 7,000 burials last year.
