Seniors at The Residence on Fifth assisted-living facility in Oakland were notified Monday that the facility would close on May 8, with a sale of the property to Carnegie Mellon University pending this spring.

The closure will displace 42 residents and eliminate jobs for the 47 full- and part-time workers there, including that of executive director Patricia J. Volpe. The facility is licensed to care for 77 residents.

The closure "was based on a financial decision not to continue the operation," said Ms. Volpe, who added the decision came from the facility's five-member board.

"I wasn't part of that discussion," said Ms. Volpe, who has been at the facility since June. "I didn't find out much sooner than [the residents] did."

CMU spokesman Ken Walters said Residence on Fifth officials approached Carnegie Mellon University about a sale of the five-story building at Fifth Avenue and Neville Street, and that "we have executed a sales agreement."

He declined to give a sales price before the scheduled May closing. According to the Allegheny County real estate Web site, the property has a $3 million market value.

"Our preliminary plans are to use the property for apartments for 93 resident students," said Mr. Walters. "We currently lease space for approximately 750 students in this area - including the Fairfax Apartments next door and Webster Hall - and are pleased with the way our students have integrated into this neighborhood."

Ms. Volpe said the facility would help residents find another assisted-living facility but would not cover moving costs.

The Residence on Fifth is listed as part of West Penn Allegheny Senior Care, but Ms. Volpe said it was an independent nonprofit with no direct connection to the West Penn Allegheny Health System. The facility uses the WPAHS name and logo under a licensing agreement.

One of two WPAHS Forbes Hospice inpatient units is located at the Residence on Fifth Avenue. WPAHS spokesman Dan Laurent that program would be moved to a still-undetermined location, but that "we do not anticipate that patients will be impacted by the move."

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