A planned sale of a Penobscot Community Health Care building has been disrupted by the city of Bangor, which intends to purchase the property.<\/p>\n
The building at 103 Maine Ave. currently houses PCHC administrative offices. The organization planned to sell the building to a smaller local medical practice for $1.375 million, with a closing date set for Aug. 27, according to Dr. Eric Wise, president of Northeast Pain Management, which is the prospective buyer.<\/p>\n
But the city of Bangor has decided that it wants to exercise its right of first refusal on a sale of the property. That right was built into the terms when the city sold it to PCHC in 2009, according to city spokesperson David Warren.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intention to sell to a third party, and the scheduling of a closing, were done before the City had adequate time to consider exercising its right of first refusal and before the City Council could deliberate the matter,\u201d Warren said.<\/p>\n
That jeopardizes a deal that could\u2019ve given PCHC funds to quickly address its financial crisis after the medical provider announced last week<\/a>\u00a0that it needed $3 million in the next 30 to 60 days to avoid drastically cutting services or declaring bankruptcy.<\/p>\n \u201cCompleting this sale as originally planned would allow PCHC to direct proceeds toward<\/p>\n immediate operational needs now,\u201d Lori Dwyer, PCHC president and CEO, said. \u201cTimely access to these funds is an important part of the work we are doing to strengthen PCHC\u2019s financial position.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization is Maine\u2019s largest federally qualified health center and provides care regardless of insurance or ability to pay for about 50,000 patients in Bangor, Brewer, Old Town, Belfast and Jackman. It announced Thursday<\/a>\u00a0that it plans to close its Adult Wellness Center and lay off several staff.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city would not be able to close and provide those funds in the time frame that PCHC needs,\u201d Wise said.<\/p>\n The city wants to buy the building for its public health department, which currently works in leased space, according to Warren, who said the purchase would result in smaller yearly costs for the city compared with what it pays in rent or the $4 million estimated to construct a new building.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purchase of 103 Maine Avenue represents both short-term and long-term savings for the City, and the City Council has determined that exercising the right of first refusal is in the best interests of the City and its residents,\u201d Warren said.<\/p>\n The organization gave Bangor\u2019s public health department a walk-through and offered to sell it in June 2025 \u201cafter many conversations,\u201d but the department declined, according to PCHC. The healthcare provider then listed the property early this year and sent official notice of the pending sale to the city on Aug. 4.<\/p>\n The matter has not yet been discussed in a public meeting of the City Council, although the body has discussed acquisition of property twice in the last two weeks while in executive session, a legal mechanism that allows elected officials to deliberate on a narrow set of confidential matters in private.<\/p>\n