The University of Maine (UMaine) has decided to sell the Hutchinson Center to Waldo Community Action Partners (WCAP) following a second round of solicitations for offers. This award comes several months after the institution rescinded its offer of the property to Calvary Chapel Belfast.
WCAP, a 501(c)3 funded almost entirely through taxpayer dollars, has offered UMaine $3.06 million for the property, about half a million more than the appraised value of $2.52 million.
The Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee/Waterfall Arts offered $1.8 million for the property, and Calvary Chapel Belfast offered $1.1 million.
All three bidders agreed to lease the space currently housing an internet access center back to the University of Maine System (UMS) for five years at no cost.
WCAP intends to use the property as a community resource hub that houses the organization’s programs and serves as a community center.
The Hutchinson Center previously served as “an educational and cultural center for the mid-coast area” according to the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce. The University officially closed the Center last year in response to a decline in usage.
Housed within the Hutchinson Center is an internet access hub, strategically located such that it can help provide internet connectivity throughout the state. As part of the Center’s sale, UMaine explained that it anticipated needing to relocate the hub “to a purpose-built utility building.”
According to a UMaine press release published on Friday, WCAP’s offer “did not have any contingencies that could delay a timely transition of the property.”
This is the second time that an effort has been made to find a buyer for the Hutchinson Center, prompting responses from the same three organizations that submitted offers in the first round.
Over the summer, UMaine announced that it would be selling the property to Calvary Chapel Belfast, which intended to use the Hutchinson Center to house its addiction recovery efforts, as well as its homeschool co-op program.
Almost immediately after UMaine announced that it had selected Calvary Chapel Belfast as the winning bid, appeals were brought by the groups whose applications were denied.
UMaine subsequently defended its decision to sell the Hutchinson Center to Calvary Chapel Belfast, explaining that the church had the highest-scoring proposal and “the university cannot discriminate, including on the basis of religion.”
“Doing so would be against the law and inconsistent with the university’s commitment to inclusion,” they wrote.
Despite this earlier statement, however, the institution soon announced that it would be rescinding this award and launching a new solicitation process.
[RELATED: UMaine Rescinds Offer to Sell Hutchinson Center to Belfast Church]
As explained in a statement at the time, this was done because the original evaluation criteria used “did not adequately allow for the full financial impacts of proposals to be considered,” particularly with respect to the internet access hub.
Calvary Chapel Belfast’s original offer would have reportedly allowed the hub to remain on the property, but it would have needed to be moved to a “purpose-built utility building” elsewhere on site.
“While other respondents proposed favorable property lease arrangements and access as solicited in the [request-for-proposals],” UMaine explained. “[Future of the Hutchinson Center/Waterfall Arts] suggested that the hub could permanently remain within the existing building.”
The evaluation criteria for the proposals submitted awarded 85 out of 100 total points for the proximity of the proposed purchase price to the appraised value, 10 points for various contingencies, 5 points for the cost of the internet access hub lease.
Proposals were due by November 1 and were scored by a six-person team of individuals from UMaine and UMS.
The sale of the Hutchinson Center comes as part of a larger effort by UMS to “achieve fiscal and energy efficiencies”
Click Here to Read the Full Press Release
WCAP posted a statement to Facebook early Friday afternoon expressing gratitude and excitement over their acquisition of the Hutchinson Center.
“[WCAP] has provided programs and services to support people in our community for nearly 60 years,” they wrote. “We are excited to share news that the University of Maine has accepted our bid for the Hutchinson Center property, which will ultimately help us better serve Waldo County in a new, permanent ‘home.'”
“We have been intentionally planning for years to build a community resource hub in Belfast that will house our programs and serve as a community center,” WCAP said. “We are fortunate that this planning positioned us at the right time to pursue this opportunity and keep the Hutchinson Center as a valuable resource in the community. We will share more information soon.”
“Thank you for the overwhelming outpouring of support and encouragement,” they concluded. “All programs and services will continue as usual as we develop plans for the transition into the new space.”
Click Here for WCAP’s Full Statement
As of this article’s publication, neither Calvary Chapel Belfast nor the Future of Hutchinson Center Steering Committee/Waterfall Arts have issued a public statement on UMaine’s decision.
Greg Huston, the pastor of Cavalry Chapel Belfast, has previously said that the church will be pursuing litigation against the UMaine system.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="32553 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=32553">3 Comments
Almost immediately after the first offer was accepted from Calvary Chapel the secular mid coast Maine folks (mostly all started shrieking and most likely cast some incantations on the University of Maine – which predictably buckled. University of Maine says it can’t discriminate, but it looks like it did.
The Belfast/Searsport area IMO has been commandeered by wealthy retirees from away who can be counted on to protest any perceived improvement for young working people and families.
UMaine enrollment, other than the 2 yr freeloaders, is going down.
Get woke, go broke.
How do you put buyers through all that and then renege? I wonder if the University hasn’t opened the door for legal action.