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UMaine law asks to ditch its building, move downtown for now

UMaine law asks to ditch its building, move downtown for now

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) The University of Maine School of Law may leave its famously ugly building for a temporary space in downtown Portland.

A committee of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees recommended on Wednesday that the board approve the move and enter into a new lease, the Portland Press Herald reported.

The University of Maine School of Law’s building is located on the University of Southern Maine’s campus, and has been named among the ugliest buildings in the country. Dean Leigh Saufley told the newspaper the building is in such disrepair that needed technology upgrades are not possible, and the law school cannot increase its student enrollment because the building won’t accommodate it.

“What is wrong with the building is a four-hour conversation,” Saufley said.

The UMaine System is fundraising to build a new building that would also house the law school, though the exact location of the site and the construction schedule has not been determined.

If the board of trustees approves the move downtown, the lease would cost almost $1 million a month, plus operating costs, the newspaper reported. Classes could start there as soon as this fall. The board of trustees will meet on May 24 to consider the proposal.

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