Belfast groups formally challenge sale of UMaine campus to church

A Belfast organization has formally challenged the decision of the University of Maine System to sell its local campus, known as the Hutchinson Center , to a church.

That group, Committee for the Future of the Hutchinson Center , had partnered with Waterfall Arts on a proposal to buy the Belfast facility for $500,000 as part of a larger effort to keep it open for education and community events, it said on Monday.

But last week, the UMaine System announced that it was instead planning to sell the Hutchinson Center to Calvary Chapel Belfast. The church has reportedly offered to pay $1 million for the purchase — double what the local groups had bid.

The Committee and Waterfall Arts have now challenged that sale during a five-day appeal period, arguing that their plans for the facility would amount to a greater value for the UMaine System.

In part, they argued that they could continue to maintain a community internet access hub that now exists in the Hutchinson Center, keeping it in its current location, whereas the proposals from the other two bidders would reportedly require it to be moved. The committee argued that moving the internet access hub would cost the UMaine System $500,000.

In their appeal, the Committee and Waterfall Arts said that both Calvary Chapel Belfast and a third bidder, Waldo Community Action Partners, had each offered to pay $1 million to purchase the Hutchinson Center.

“Avoiding this move saves the University this money and puts our proposal on par with the others as, in effect, a cash offer for $1 million,” the groups said in their appeal.

The System has declined to disclose the details of each bid until after the five-day appeal process is over, and a spokesperson did not confirm those numbers on Monday. It has said that the Hutchinson Center has an appraised value of $2.5 million.

A representative for Waldo Community Action Partners said on Monday that it has not yet decided whether to file its own appeal.

Though the Committee for the Future of the Hutchinson Center said that it offered to pay less for the building than the other two bidders, it argued that the actual value of its offer would amount to at least $1.9 million for the UMaine System.

Besides the savings from its proposal to keep the community internet hub in place, it also said that it would be able to rent space in the Hutchinson Center back to the System for any purposes that may arise, including conferences and other events related to the offshore wind industry the state is in the early stages of developing out of the neighboring community of Searsport.

The Committee further argued that selling the Hutchinson Center to a private group could upset some potential donors.

“The other proposers each offered $1 million with no added value to the University,” they said. “Our proposal clearly provides the greatest benefit to the University.”