3 groups seek to buy UMaine’s Belfast center in 2nd round of bids

After the University of Maine System rescinded its earlier offer to sell the Hutchinson Center in Belfast to a local evangelical church, the same number of groups has made bids to buy the property as part of a new round of proposals.
The UMaine System has received three bids in this round, which came to a close on Friday, according to spokesperson Samantha Warren. That’s the same number that made bids during the earlier round of proposals that culminated in the system awarding the sale to Calvary Chapel Belfast, then rescinding it based on what it said was a deficiency in the evaluation criteria that were used.
The other two groups that had made bids in the first round were Waldo Community Action Partners and a partnership between the Committee for the Future of the Hutchinson Center and Waterfall Arts.
Warren declined to identify the groups that had made bids in the new round of proposals and said that information would be released once the system determines which proposal scored highest.
The new proposals are being evaluated primarily based on the purchase price they offer, as well as on contingencies related to real estate transactions and how much the new owner would charge the system to lease back a part of the facility that provides internet connectivity to schools, libraries and other institutions.
The Hutchinson Center has an appraised value of $2.5 million.