🔒After 3 years on market, former Unity campus sells for $6M

Unity Environmental University — which has converted from an on-campus model to primarily remote learning — has finalized an agreement to sell its 90 Quaker Hill property in the Waldo County town of Unity. The transaction was structured as a $6 million purchase agreement, with negotiated credits and customary closing adjustments. After closing costs and transaction expenses, the university expects net proceeds of $3.23 million. The buyer, who was not identified, plans to use the 200-acre campus as an upscale summer camp with outdoor programming. “Throughout the process, our focus was on identifying a buyer whose vision aligned with the long-term potential of the property,” said John Finegan of Portland-based Boulos Co., which brokered the deal. "We also recognized the importance of this location to the surrounding area and worked diligently to find a user that would be embraced by the town while contributing to economic growth in the region." The deal comes nearly three years after the university posted the property for sale. As reported by Mainebiz in 2023, town records at the time showed an assessed value of $26.8 million, much of which was tax-exempt.

Business model shift

Founded in 1965, Unity was part of a wave of colleges that offered an alternative to traditional learning models. The school honed in on environmental learning and, in 2012, made news by becoming the first college to divest its endowment of fossil fuel companies. In 2011, the campus added dorms that were built to Passive House standards by Belfast-based GO Logic. At that time, it had more than 500 students on campus. Unity Environmental University transitioned to a remote-learning model during the pandemic, though it was only completely online in the academic year 2020-21. It has since relocated its headquarters to the Pineland Farms campus in New Gloucester, Cumberland County, where it also offers some in-person learning, with state-of-the-art labs and learning facilities. In 2023, it changed its name from Unity College to Unity Environmental University. By offering remote learning options, the university grew its enrollment by the thousands — and it topped a ranking of Maine's largest colleges and universities in the 2026 Mainebiz Book of Lists, with 9,463 students.

“The property in Unity will always remain part of our history and identity. Transitioning away from it was one of the toughest decisions we have ever had to make," Unity Environmental University Melik Peter Khoury said in a news release. "We know how much this place meant, and continues to mean, to a generation of alumni, faculty and staff. But we also know that our responsibility was to ensure that the mission born in Unity would continue to thrive," he added. "Because of those difficult decisions, Unity Environmental University is stronger than ever, serving students across the country while remaining true to the values and purpose that began right here in Maine." The university said it "sought a transition that would benefit both the institution and the town of Unity, ensuring the property remained an active contributor to the region for years to come." “While difficult, the decision to sell reflects responsible stewardship of institutional resources and positions the university for continued investment in student access, innovation and long-term sustainability,” said board Chair Sharon Reishus. “The Unity campus shaped who I am, so letting it go was not easy. But holding onto a place out of sentiment is not the same as serving its future. Passing it to people ready to fill it with new purpose felt like the honest choice, even when it was the hard one,” said Howard “Chuck” Johnson, a board of trustees member who graduated from Unity in 1973.