Frederick Hutchinson Center in Belfast, a building previously used by the University of Maine for classes that served a mix of undergraduate and non-traditional students. (Courtesy of Samantha Warren/ UMaine System)
Despite objections from community organizations, the sale of a former UMaine educational center in Belfast will proceed as planned, to a church.
The bidding for the Frederick Hutchinson Center — which once served thousands of public university students but had been vacant for years — has been open for eight months. Over that time, the university system received three competitive offers and selected Calvary Church Belfast, part of a nationwide association of evangelical churches, as the top bidder, according to news releases by university system spokesperson, Samantha Warren.
This decision drew criticism from some residents and organizations, and a total of 135 comments to the university system. Belfast residents, including members of the other bidding organizations, objected to the university system’s decision to sell the building to what some residents called a “bigoted church.” The other two bidders submitted appeals for reconsideration, but the system will continue with the sale, according to a Thursday press release.
“The people of the Belfast area welcome all residents and visitors, regardless of race, age, gender, nationality, and beliefs, and we strive for inclusion, respect and equality for all citizens,” said Judy Berk, a Northport resident who was one of the community members who wrote to UMaine expressing objections to the sale.
“It is outrageous to consider replacing the University of Maine’s Hutchinson Center campus with Calvary Chapel — an exclusionary church that teaches bigotry and opposes public education,” she said, referring to the sermons by the Belfast chapter’s that expressed some anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment .
The university system can’t discriminate based on religion, according to Warren.
“Doing so would be against the law and inconsistent with the university’s commitment to inclusion,” according to a statement the system released addressing comments from the public.
Calvary Chapel Belfast did not respond to a request for comment by publication.
On its website, Calvary Chapel clarified some of its goals in purchasing the Hutchinson Center. Those goals include aiding individuals suffering from addiction, building a homeschool co-op, and adding programs for the special needs community, according to the statement.
“Our plan also includes a hybrid and 5-day school to give parents a variety of educational options that best fit their lifestyle,” the statement said.
“While we are a faith-based organization we hope to fill practical needs and desires of the community when mutually beneficial.”
The goals of Calvary Belfast Academy, the church’s homeschooling program, would directly contradict UMaine’s mission of public education, according to a commentary on the sale published in the Bangor Daily News by Belfast resident Lauren Ware Stark.
“Rather than offering public higher education for all, it focuses on providing religious education to members of the Calvary community,” wrote Stark, who is an assistant professor of education and a member of the Scholars Strategy Network.
Why the church was the top bidder
The Hutchinson Center is latest in the line of buildings the public university system has put up for sale over the past few years. The building was donated to UMaine in 2007. In 2005, it was serving around 16,000 students, according to Warren.
That dropped to 300 students in 2019, and for the past few years, the center has not hosted in-person classes. The sale was part of an effort by the university system to reduce its physical footprint by selling underutilized buildings.
The university system maintained that the request for proposals and scoring criteria to determine top bidders gave organizations plenty of opportunity to seek clarity, learn more about the center and tour the property.
The top two scoring respondents — Calvary Chapel Belfast and the Waldo Community Action Partners, a community service organization — both submitted purchase offers of $1 million, according to the news release.
Calvary Chapel’s proposal offered the system a better deal to maintain internet connectivity for midcoast schools, libraries and community centers through a NetworkMaine access hub that has historically been located at the center, waived the right to inspect the property despite previously disclosed water damage, and offered $250,000 in earnest money, which was five times that of the second-place bidder, according to the release.
The other organization, Future of Hutchinson Center Committee, argued in its appeal that the offer the organization made — which included a $500,000 cash purchase price, continued use of the existing internet hub within the Hutchinson Center and the possibility of utilizing the center in the future for UMaine purposes — amounted to $1.9 million, and was clearly the most beneficial offer.
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