UMaine goes back to drawing board on sale of Hutchinson Center

File photo / Courtesy of University of Maine System The Hutchinson Center is located at 80 Belmont Ave. in Belfast.

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Walking back a decision to sell the Hutchinson Center in Belfast to a local church, the University of Maine plans to restart the sale process.

Cavalry Chapel Belfast had been picked to buy the property after submitting “the top-scoring response” out of three offers, the Orono school announced last month.

After the decision, two thwarted bidders for the building at 80 Belmont Ave. lodged separate protests.

In a final review of the appeals, one University of Maine System official found that the process was conducted fairly. However, the vice chancellor agreed that the evaluation criteria did not take full account of the financial impact of proposals.

The property, which has not hosted classes since 2020, comprises a 30,515-square-foot main building, 1,963-square-foot barn and 11.6 acres. The center was appraised at $2.52 million in 2023.

In Thursday’s announcement, the University of Maine System noted that while university properties are typically sold through a commercial broker or via a competitive request for proposals, community feedback prompted an innovative approach. That approach invited offers to purchase, lease or propose creative alternatives for the center.

Next steps

The university expects to announce by Sept. 26 how new offers for the sale or transfer of the Hutchinson Center will be solicited.

The solicitation might be through a new request for proposals, which would take into account the real and potential value of all aspects of the proposals, or through listing with a pre-qualified commercial broker.

The Bank of America donated the Hutchinson Center to UMaine in 2007 as a gift with no conditions. Since then, the university has invested more than $14 million in capital improvements. They include funding three-quarters of a large expansion project completed in 2009, for which UMaine still owes $885,000.