Evangelical church to buy UMaine campus in Belfast

A branch of the University of Maine in Belfast that closed just over a year ago will be the new home for a local evangelical church.

Pastor Greg Huston of Calvary Chapel announced in a Facebook video Wednesday that the University of Maine System had accepted an offer from the church, which is now located on Lincolnville Avenue in Belfast.

Huston said the building would be the new home for the church and its school.

“We’re going to use that facility that was intended for education to continue to educate people, but particularly in the things of the Lord,” Huston said in the video.

Samantha Warren, a spokesperson for the University of Maine System, confirmed the offer to Calvary Chapel on Wednesday night.

The Hutchinson Center is located on Route 3 just outside of downtown Belfast. The facility was built in 2000 by the credit card company MBNA and given to UMaine in 2007 by MBNA’s successor in Belfast, Bank of America. Its main building is roughly 30,000 square feet.

Before it closed in August 2023, the center hosted UMaine students and had facilities for large community events and conferences. It had also been home to Belfast Senior College, which now holds classes at a variety of venues in Belfast, including churches.