ORONO, Maine — At their regular meeting today in Orono, the University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to allow the University of Maine (UMaine) to sell the Frederick Hutchinson Center in Belfast.
Earlier this year, UMaine issued a competitive request for purchase, lease or creative alternative proposals (RFP) and received multiple offers to buy the property, which includes a 30,500-square-foot main building, 1,960-square-foot barn and 11.6 acres.
With the Trustees’ authorization, UMaine can now more forward in selecting a buyer, which is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. The transaction would be finalized this fall.
Built in 2000 by MBNA and gifted to UMaine in 2007 by Bank of America, the Hutchinson Center was once a vibrant hub for university education and community events in the midcoast. UMaine has invested millions of dollars into its capital improvement and still owes $885,000 toward a major expansion completed in 2009.
Consistent with trends across UMS and higher education nationally, enrollment for courses at the Hutchinson Center has shifted online. No degree-seeking students have taken classes in-person there since 2020, and facility rentals never rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
Following two years of stakeholder engagement through which no viable operating models emerged, UMaine closed the Hutchinson Center last year. Initially, the university planned to list the property with a commercial broker, but in response to community feedback, instead issued the broad RFP that provided more time for proposals to be developed by interested local parties and considered by UMaine in a fair and transparent manner.
“We are proud of the responsive educational and enrichment offerings the University of Maine was uniquely able to provide through the Hutchinson Center for more than two decades,” said President Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “The region has changed and so too have the opportunities to leverage this terrific asset to best meet the current and future needs of Waldo County and beyond. We thank the people and businesses of the midcoast for their historic support and engagement, and the Board of Trustees for their thoughtful approval today. We look forward to concluding the RFP process in a way that advances the interests of both the community and our public university, and to continuing to serve this special region of our state.”
Despite the decline in usage of the Hutchinson Center and its eventual closure, the percentage of degree-seeking UMS students from Waldo County has remained consistent over the past six years. Beyond enrollment of local students at its campuses in Orono and Machias, free early college programs at all high schools in the county, area employer partnerships and online offerings, UMaine continues to have a presence in the region including through its Cooperative Extension Tanglewood 4-H Camp and Learning Center in Lincolnville (External Site) and Center for Research in STEM Education (RiSE Center) collaboration with Belfast teachers (External Site).
The Hutchinson Center sale is consistent with a commitment in the new UMS strategic plan to achieve fiscal and energy efficiencies by selling or leasing buildings and land that are unused or underutilized, typically because of demographic and higher education delivery changes. More than one-third of the System’s student credit hours are now earned online.
Property transfers generate savings necessary to maintain affordable UMS education for students and allow the System’s limited financial resources to be focused on improving essential infrastructure.
Recent sales have also enabled university assets to be repurposed for community benefit or be returned to the tax rolls to generate needed revenue for municipalities. In June, the University of Maine at Presque Isle sold its Houlton Higher Education Center (External Site) to an area nonprofit that provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities. Earlier this year, the University of Maine at Augusta sold four undeveloped acres to BangorHousing, making way for 50 new units of needed affordable senior housing.
Already in 2024, Trustees have also approved the sale or listing of properties in Harmony, Presque Isle and Portland.
About the University of Maine System
The University of Maine System (UMS) is the state’s largest driver of educational attainment and economic development. Established in 1968, UMS unites the state’s distinctive public universities including the University of Maine and its regional campus the University of Maine at Machias, the University of Maine at Augusta, the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of Maine at Fort Kent, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, the University of Southern Maine and the University of Maine School of Law, as well as the University of Maine Graduate and Professional Center. Over the past two decades, the System has awarded 106,362 degrees and spurred and strengthened thousands of small Maine businesses through its world-class research and development activities. Working age alumni of its flagship, UMaine, earn more than double the state’s average median income. For more information, visit maine.edu.
Media Contact:
Samantha Warren
Director of External Affairs, University of Maine System
207-632-0389 / samantha.warren@maine.edu