The University of Maine System (UMS) Board of Trustees unanimously approved the sale of three properties in Aroostook and Penobscot counties on Jan. 29, 2024, so they can be repurposed to better benefit the public.

At their meeting at the University of Maine (UMaine), the Board of Trustees gave final authorization to the University of Maine at Augusta to sell four undeveloped acres to Bangor Housing Development Corp. (BHDC) for the appraised value of $160,000 to help address the state’s need for more affordable housing.

BHDC hopes to build 50 units of affordable senior housing on the parcel, adjacent to another 50-unit project under development on Sunset Avenue in Bangor, according to UMaine, in a news release.

UMS Trustees also approved proposals from the University of Maine Presque Isle (UMPI) to sell underutilized buildings in Presque Isle and Houlton.

The Board’s actions advance a goal in the System’s new strategic plan — the first in nearly two decades — to achieve fiscal and energy efficiencies by reducing holdings of unused or underutilized buildings and land.

“As important as it is for our System to realize cost savings necessary for our public universities to maintain affordable access to high-quality education and opportunity for Maine students, so too is ensuring these assets are being leveraged to best meet the current and future needs of Maine communities,” said UMS Board Chair Trish Riley, in the release. “As we saw today, Maine’s public universities are taking seriously the Board’s call to look closely at the return on investment of our instructional sites and centers across the state and are bringing forward creative solutions that balance the realities of our bottom line and the needs of local communities.”

UMPI plans to sell the Houlton Higher Education Center to a community partner with an aligned mission, while retaining office and teaching space in the building.

“While these properties served our students and our System very well for a time, the needs of both Maine learners and the communities they live and work in have evolved and we now believe they can be put to better use,” said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “As we right-size our footprint for the future, we are more committed than ever to meeting learners where they are and providing the programming they need to get where they want to be. I am especially pleased that the Houlton Higher Education Center will continue to be utilized for educational purposes, and that through this important facility, UMPI will maintain both a presence and pathways to social mobility through postsecondary education in southern Aroostook County.”

Thanks to the popularity of its YourPace online competency-based degree program and expanded internet connectivity in the state, distance education now makes up 74% of the credit hours delivered by UMPI compared to 23% five years ago, and accounted for 37% of all UMS credit hours this fall.

The changes in how learners are accessing UMPI’s academic and other programming has led to a sharp drop in student usage of the 15,662-square-foot building, which is located 50 miles from its main campus in Presque Isle.

UMPI also will seek a buyer for the 9,650-square-foot Skyway Complex in Presque Isle. The university has used the building for student and faculty housing in the past, but the entire current and projected residential student population can be housed on the main campus.

UMPI/UMS plans to sell the two properties at market value or above through a competitive public process that ensures all good faith proposals can be considered in a fair and transparent manner.

Last year, System Trustees authorized the University of Southern Maine’s sale of five properties on Chamberlain Street and Deering Avenue in Portland, which collectively are valued at more than $2.9 million and currently listed individually through F.O. Bailey Real Estate. Meanwhile, UMaine is currently soliciting purchase, lease or alternative creative real property offers through a competitive RFP process for the 32,477-square-foot Hutchinson Center in Belfast, which has not enrolled students for in-person academic programming since 2020.

In 2022, UMS sold its interest in 16 Central St. in Bangor, which now houses the offices of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness.

At their meeting Monday and also consistent with the System’s strategic plan, Trustees supported investments that strengthen workforce development and research capacity and leverage one-time federal funding secured by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and also through Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan.

Projects approved will expand and enhance high-impact simulation training for nursing students at UMaine and UMA, the latter of which has experienced a four-fold increase in its nursing program enrollment over the past five years. Modernization of existing UMaine research facilities in Orono, Jonesboro and Presque Isle was also authorized to advance understanding of PFAS and grow Maine’s potato and wild blueberry industries.