UMaine selects community nonprofit as next owner of Belfast’s Hutchinson Center

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)

After years of hosting no in-person classes, a monthslong bidding process and an unsuccessful sale attempt to a church, a midcoast educational hub has a new buyer.

The University of Maine System will sell the Hutchinson Center in Belfast to Waldo Community Action Partners, the highest bidder out of the three organizations competing for the once-bustling building which has stood mostly vacant for years as classes moved online.

The sale is the latest of several properties the state's public universities have sold this year in an attempt to reduce the university system's physical footprint

The bidding process for the center, which also serves as the internet hub for midcoast schools and libraries, has been fraught with scrutiny from local organizations

After the system announced it had chosen to sell the building to Calvary Chapel of Belfast

the other two organizations vying for the 30,000 square foot building formally appealed. Upon reconsideration, the university system realized it had undermined the importance of the internet hub in its selection process and its agreement with the church in September, soliciting another round of bids from interested parties.

The same three bidders renewed their proposals and applied — Waldo CAP, Calvary Chapel, and Friends of the Hutchinson Center, another Belfast-area nonprofit. Waldo CAP offered the system $3.06 million for the property, which was more than double the other two offers, and above the appraised value of $2.52 million, according to a release by system spokesperson Samantha Warren.

That's significantly higher than the offers in the previous round of bidding, when Waldo CAP offered $1 million in cash.

The other two bidders have a chance to appeal in the next five business days, but if the sale goes through, transition of the property will start as soon as next year. All three organizations offered to let the system lease space to maintain the internet hub in the building for the next five years at no additional cost.

Waldo CAP's plans for the building are unclear, and the organization did not respond to requests for comment. According to the nonprofit's proposal, it has not had a space of its own in 60 years of operation. The group proposes to use the Hutchinson Center for various community programs such as Pre-K, transportation for community members, case management for unhoused people, and an emergency assistance program for low-income households.

"We hope to house some of our administration and programs in the location as well as ensure access to the community for a community center Waldo County has need for," the proposal said. "We work collaboratively with many local partners, so this is a natural fit for us."