Photo / Courtesy of University of Maine System
The Hutchinson Center is located at 80 Belmont Ave. in Belfast.
August 16, 2024
UMaine plans to sell Hutchinson Center in Belfast to local church
File photo / Courtesy, University of Maine Alumni Association
The Hutchinson Center in Belfast was built in 2000 by MBNA and donated to the University of Maine in 2007 by Bank of America.
A year after closing the Hutchinson Center in Belfast, the University of Maine plans to sell the former educational facility to a local church.
Out of three offers submitted to a public request for proposals, the Cavalry Chapel Belfast was selected because it “had the top-scoring response,” UMaine said in a news release Thursday.
Other proposals were submitted by Waldo County Community Action Partners and Friends of the Hutchinson Center/Waterfall Arts. The bidders have until next Wednesday to submit a written appeal.
After that, UMaine plans to negotiate a final agreement, including price and other terms, with the selected buyer.
While the original plan was to list the property for sale with a commercial broker, the owner opted instead to issue a formal request for proposals to allow more time for offers from interested local parties, according to spokeswoman for the University of Maine System.
The process also enables the seller to consider the offers "in a fair and transparent manner," she said.
Beyond the proposed purchase price and other factors, the university’s scoring took into consideration how the buyer would work with the University of Maine System to maintain internet connectivity for midcoast schools, libraries and community centers.
The Hutchinson Center, at 80 Belmont Ave., was built in 2000 by MBNA Corp., a credit card company acquired by Bank of America Corp. in 2006. In 2007, Bank of America donated the building to UMaine.
Once a hub for university education and community events, the building stopped hosting in-person classes during the pandemic, when the demand for online learning increased. In fact, no degree-seeking students have taken classes at the Hutchinson Center since 2020.
UMaine System trustees voted last month to authorize the sale of the property.
Community outreach
Calvary Chapel Belfast, established in 2008, is located at 189 Lincolnville Ave., about 2 miles from the Hutchinson Center. From 2017-2020, the church rented space there.
“We are thrilled and looking forward to the future that Calvary Chapel Belfast has within the Belfast community,” the group said in a Facebook post. "Like many, we know and respect the history of the Hutchinson Center and we plan on continuing the original purpose through our various efforts in offering education and community outreach.”
At the center, the church aims to expand its efforts to help people with addiction, and plans to later build a community resource center as part of a home-schooling co-op.
“While we are a faith-based organization, we hope to fill practical needs and desires of the community when mutually beneficial," the church said. “We are grateful to the University of Maine for choosing Calvary Chapel Belfast to be stewards of this great community resource.”
For its part, the UMaine System says the sale fits into its broader goal of selling or leasing out underused real estate.
Recent transactions include the sale of the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Houlton Higher Education Center to an area nonprofit, and the sale of four acres at the University of Maine at Augusta to BangorHousing to develop 50 new units of affordable housing.
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Anonymous
August 17, 2024
Isn't that property technically owned by the taxpayers? Did everyone get the RFP? I don't think so.
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